Taipei, Taiwan -- Via Technologies Inc., the top competitor of Intel Corp. in chipsets, said today that it's planning to sell shares in the form of American Depository Receipts (ADRs) for US$300 million - US$500 million in the second half of this year and debut on the New York Stock Exchange.
The chipset maker is about to hire Credit Suisse First Boston and a few others to manage the sale.
The long-awaited stock sale has been delayed since last year, as a slump in PC demand dragged down sales of Taipei-based Via and many makers of PCs, semiconductors and components.
Now, with growing expectations from some companies and analysts that the downturn will reverse in the traditionally strong third quarter, Via is ready to begin the share sale.
"The sooner we kick off the sale, the better It'll be for us to expand," said a company executive, who asked not to be named. He said proceeds from the sale would be used in acquisitions of a U.S. wireless chip design house, among other purposes.
Xilinx Inc., San Jose, Calif., has said this week that order cancellations and pushouts have "slowed considerably," a sign the worst might be over.
In the first five months of this year, Via's sales hit US$480 million, meeting only 36.2% of its full-year target.
