13.03.2009 10:57
Qimonda creditors to decide on bridge loan -source
MUNICH, March 13 (Reuters) - A committee of creditors for Qimonda (News) is set to decide on Friday on how to keep the world's fourth largest memory chip maker afloat in the near-term, a source close to the matter said on Friday.
Qimonda failed in January after the German state of Saxony, home to the chip maker, rejected a rescue plan to provide loans to the company.
Qimonda needs concrete indications of interest by investors by the end of March to avert liquidation.
At a meeting on Friday the committee will discuss a potential bridge loan of about 100 million euros ($129 million) to tide Qimonda over until an investor is found, the source told Reuters.
Talks with potential investors from Europe and Asia were continuing but would not be concluded by the beginning of April, the source added, which is why interim financing was needed.
A spokesman for Qimonda and the administrator declined to comment on the matter.
Qimonda's banks would only be willing to provide financing with government backing, the source said.
Portugal, where Qimonda operates a large factory, was prepared to help, the source said, but was still trying to get the German federal government, the states of Saxony and Bavaria on board.
