Creditors of Hynix Semiconductor Inc. on Monday approved a proposed $3.8 billion deal to sell the troubled South Korean chipmaker"s memory operations to U.S. rival Micron Technology Inc.
The decision cleared the first major hurdle to the deal that would make Micron the world"s largest memory chipmaker with a global control of 40 percent.
The deal still is subject to approval by Hynix"s board of directors, which will convene Tuesday, the deadline set by Micron for the deal to stand or to be scrapped.
The Hynix board reportedly is critical of the deal, seeing it as "a virtual giveaway."
Most of Hynix"s creditors are government-controlled banks. The deal was approved with 77.73 percent of votes, slightly over the minimum 75 percent needed for approval, said Lee Youn-soo, vice president of Korea Exchange Bank, the largest Hynix creditor.