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Elpida says court approves acquisition by Micron

US-ELPIDA-MICRON:Elpida says court approves acquisition by Micron

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Micron Technology's plan to acquire Japanese memory chipmaker Elpida took a big step toward completion after a Tokyo court approved the agreement and dismissed a rival plan promoted by a group of bondholders.

A district court in Tokyo said on Wednesday it was referring bankrupt Elpida's plan to be bought by U.S. chipmaker Micron to creditors for approval, according to a news release on Elpida's website.

The court said it dismissed a rival proposal by a group of bondholders, led by hedge funds Linden Advisors, Owl Creek Asset Management and Taconic Capital Advisors, who have said the $2.5-billion price tag grossly undervalues Elpida, arguing that the company is worth 300 billion yen ($3.78 billion).

Elpida, the last of Japan's dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chipmakers, was driven into bankruptcy by falling chip sales and foreign competition. The company proposed a $2.5-billion sale to Micron, based in Boise, Idaho, as a way to repay creditors.

That deal would catapult Micron into the No. 2 spot in the global market for DRAM chips, behind Samsung Electronics.

(Reporting By Noel Randewich; Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)

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