Posted on Monday, February 27 2012 @ 21:59 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
Bright Side of News
writes Elpida Memory has filed for bankruptcy protection today, as the firm is unable to refinance its heavy debt. It's the largest Japanese manufacturing corporate failure since World War II, the company has a debt of $5.5 billion and a DRAM marketshare of 12.5 percent.
Elpida decided to separate the low margin PC business to its Taiwanese subsidiary and concentrate instead on higher ASP devices for smartphones after the financial crisis. Yukio Sakamoto, Elpida’s CEO and President, said "We never imagined the yen would become this strong," and is cited as the major cause of Elpida’s inability to compete at a price level with their competitors.
Elpida said that it plans to reemerge under the supervision of the Tokyo District Court and a team of lawyers. President Yukio Sakamoto will stay on to work on the rehabilitation process. The company will be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange as of March 28.
