VIENNA, April 1 (Reuters) - UBS and HSBC
will hold a combined 15% stake in AMS after demand for
the sensor maker's share sale was so low they had to buy up
stock as underwriters of the deal, AMS said in a statement on
Wednesday.
Swiss-listed AMS issued 190 million new shares and raised
1.75 billion francs ($1.8 billion) to help fund its 4.6 billion
euro ($5 billion) takeover of German lighting group Osram
, with which it wants to create a European leader in
sensors and lights.
Only 62% of AMS shareholders and subscription rights holders
bought the new shares. An additional 8% could be sold in the
market and the remaining shares will be taken up by the banks
according to their underwriting quota, AMS said.
Switzerland's UBS and Britain's HSBC also provided, along
with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, a 4.4 billion euro bridge
loan for the Osram purchase.
($1 = 0.9659 Swiss francs)
($1 = 0.9142 euros)
(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle, Alexander Huebner; Editing by Mark
Potter)