December 16, 1996 1:00 PM ET
Samsung strengthens AST's credit
By Margaret Kane

AST Research Inc. has finalized a two-year, $200 million bank credit guarantee with Samsung Electronics. The deal, announced earlier this year, gives Samsung 500,000 shares of nonvoting stock in exchange for the credit. AST can repurchase each of the shares, beginning in 1999, for 13 shares of AST common stock, or $100.75 per share. AST also announced a one-year extension of another $200 million bank credit guarantee with Samsung. In all, Samsung will guarantee $300 million to AST through the end of this year, increasing to $400 million on Jan. 1, 1997, through 1998. Samsung owns about 46 percent of AST's stock, and has a 5-year option to purchase 4.4 million more shares, which would bring the South Korean company's ownership of AST up to 49.6 percent. Copyright(c) 1996 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company is prohibited. PC Week and the PC Week logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. PC Week Online and the PC Week Online logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. Send mail to PC Week