FTC Approves Samsung Offer to Buy Out AST

IRVINE — Samsung Electronics Co.’s bid to buy the 51% of AST Research Inc. that it doesn’t already own advanced a notch Monday when the Federal Trade Commission approved the $474-million purchase before the 30-day antitrust waiting period expired.

The action isn’t likely to expedite the deal, however, a Samsung spokesman said.

Samsung’s tender offer to acquire the 31 million shares of AST stock in other investors’ hands expires May 19. Samsung will pay $5.40 a share for the remaining stock and will assume $307 million of AST’s debt.

The Irvine personal computer maker has been losing money for almost three years, and Samsung, which acquired its initial interest in AST in 1994, already has spent about $400 million propping up the company.

AST last month reported a first-quarter loss of $110 million and said it would cut its work force by 25%--about 1,000 employees--to help slash costs.

Samsung is the world’s largest producer of memory chips and sees AST as a logical acquisition because its computers provide a ready market for memory chips. The South Korean company said in January that it could not justify pumping any more money into AST without taking complete control of the company.

The AST trade name is expected to survive the acquisition, and Samsung has said it will keep AST’s headquarters in Irvine, where it employs about 650.

AST stock was unchanged Monday at $5.156 in Nasdaq trading.