Elpida accused of dodgy deals with US assets

@ 2012/09/19
Elpida's US bondholders have told a court that the bankrupt Japanese chipmaker had carried out "unauthorised" dealings involving its US assets.

The bondholders, who are fighting a sale to Micron, are to ask a US bankruptcy court for greater oversight of Elpida's US assets.

According to Reuters, the hearing in Delaware's bankruptcy court in Wilmington was cancelled in favor of talks with the bondholders.

Elpida proposed the sale for about $2.5 billion to Boise, Idaho-based Micron as a way to repay creditors.

But the holders of Elpida's $5.6 billion in bonds were somewhat upset, saying that it was a sweetheart deal with little oversight, and besides, the company was worth a lot more than that.

The sale falls under the jurisdiction of the Tokyo District Court, which is overseeing Elpida's bankruptcy. But Elpida asked Delaware's bankruptcy court to protect its American assets from creditors under Chapter 15 of the US bankruptcy code.

The bondholders want the court to allow them to force Elpida's US subsidiary into US bankruptcy.

But the news that there were "four unauthorised transactions" came in response to Elpida's request to file a status report under court blessed secrecy.

The bondholders said disclosure of the transactions was critical for "stakeholders" to understand their rights in the case. It is not clear what the four transactions actually were.

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