Reports: China's Hony and TPG team to bid for Elpida

LONDON – Chinese investment firm Hony Capital is teaming up with U.S. private equity firm TPG to bid for Elpida Memory Inc., the DRAM maker that filed for bankruptcy protection in February, according to reports.

Hony Capital, founded in 2003 by John Zhao, has specialized in the buy-out of China state-owned enterprises and now has $6.8 billion in assets under management. TPG, formerly Texas Pacific Group, has $49 billion of capital under management.

The two firms bid jointly in the first round of the auction for Elpida and are expected to submit a joint bid in the second round, which is due to close on April 27, the reports in the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal said, citing unnamed sources.

Rival DRAM makers Micron Technology Inc. (Boise, Idaho) and SK Hynix Inc. (Seoul, South Korea) are both expected to bid for Elpida although fellow Japanese chipmaker Toshiba has reportedly dropped out of the running.


Related links and articles:

www.honycapital.com

www.tpg.com

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