AST Hires Advisor

AST Research Inc.’s independent directors hired Morgan Stanley & Co. to help them evaluate Samsung Electronics Co.’s offer to buy the remaining 54% of AST that Samsung doesn’t own.

South Korea-based Samsung offered last month to buy the rest of AST Research for $469 million in cash and assumed debt. It said it would pay $5.10 for each share of the struggling computer maker and assume about $307 million of debt.

AST’s three independent directors, who must approve the offer, formed a special committee late last month to study the bid.

Some AST shareholders criticized the Samsung bid as too low. Shareholders filed at least six lawsuits in Delaware claiming AST Research failed to maximize the value of the company. Other shareholders have formed their own committee to study the Samsung bid and plan to share their findings with AST Research.