Infineon seeks capital increase, shares soar
Semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies AG said Monday it will seek shareholders' permission to raise as much as euro450 million ($625 million) in capital by issuing new shares — a move that caused its stock to surge.
Neubiberg-based Infineon said it would ask shareholders to authorize the plan at a Feb. 12 meeting as a "precautionary measure in order to safeguard" its equity amid the global economic crisis.
Infineon spokesman Kai Laudien said there are currently no concrete plans to carry out the capital increase.
The announcement caused Infineon shares to surge nearly 11 percent in Frankfurt trading to euro1.12 ($1.52).
Infineon, like other chip makers, has been battered by lower chip prices on the global market amid the deepening economic crisis.
The company said last month that dropping demand would mean that revenue will drop 30 percent in the first quarter of 2009 compared with the previous quarter.
Infineon posted a euro3.1 billion loss in its 2008 fiscal year which ended Sept. 30 compared with a euro368 million loss a year earlier.
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