South Korean reminiscence chipmaker SK Hynix has filed a registration assertion with the US Securities and Trade Fee for a Nasdaq itemizing that would elevate as a lot as $29.4 billion.
The corporate plans to record its American Depositary Shares on the Nasdaq International Choose Market beneath the ticker SKHY. The providing might embody as much as 17.79 million newly issued frequent shares, representing about 2.5% of its present share depend. Ten ADSs will symbolize one frequent share.
On the most measurement, the providing would elevate about 45.45 trillion received. The preliminary valuation implies a value close to $166 per ADS, though the ultimate value will probably be decided after discussions with underwriters and the completion of the bookbuilding course of.
SK Hynix plans to start bookbuilding on July 6, set the ultimate value on July 9 and begin buying and selling on Nasdaq on July 10. BofA Securities, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are managing the providing.
The transaction shouldn’t be a standard preliminary public providing as a result of SK Hynix is already publicly traded in South Korea. As an alternative, the ADS providing will give US buyers extra direct entry to the corporate and permit it to lift capital by a second itemizing.
SK Hynix mentioned it’ll use the proceeds for common company functions and capital expenditures. Deliberate investments embody new semiconductor factories in South Korea and superior chipmaking tools resembling excessive ultraviolet lithography machines produced by ASML.
The corporate has emerged as one of many largest beneficiaries of the AI infrastructure increase. SK Hynix is a serious provider of excessive bandwidth reminiscence chips utilized in AI techniques developed by clients together with Nvidia and Google. Its shares have quadrupled this 12 months as demand for superior reminiscence has tightened international provides.
The Nasdaq itemizing might additionally assist slim the corporate’s valuation hole with US rival Micron. HSBC estimates that improved entry for international buyers might carry SK Hynix’s value to e-book ratio to three.4 from 2.8, representing a rise of roughly 20%.
The submitting comes as South Korea accelerates a broader enlargement of its semiconductor business. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix plan to construct 4 new fabrication crops beneath an 800 trillion received chip manufacturing undertaking supposed to double the nation’s reminiscence manufacturing capability over the following 5 years.
