The Nvidia supplier eyes US$29.4 billion on Nasdaq as Micron earnings stoke the memory rally
A chipmaker that nearly collapsed under debt two decades ago is now preparing one of the biggest share sales in history.
SK Hynix said on Wednesday it plans to raise up to US$29.4bn through a US stock market listing, according to Reuters, as the Nvidia supplier looks to capitalize on investor appetite for AI stocks.
At the indicative price, the deal would rank as the second-biggest share sale ever, behind only SpaceX's record US$85.7bn IPO earlier this month and ahead of Saudi Aramco's US$25.6bn float in 2019.
For investors, the central draw is a valuation re-rating.
SK Hynix's Nasdaq listing alongside rival Micron gives it a chance to be "re-rated in the US market," Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities, told Reuters.
He said its Korea-listed shares could rise as investors link the two valuations.
Expectations for a US listing have already powered the rally, CLSA senior analyst Sanjeev Rana told Reuters.
He said matching Micron's valuation multiple would push SK Hynix's local shares higher to reflect it, and he "wouldn't be surprised if this rally continues."
The memory chip maker, valued at about US$1.2tn, has been one of the clearest beneficiaries of the AI boom with shares up more than 300 percent this year and outperforming Samsung Electronics and US-based Micron.
It supplies high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI systems by customers including Nvidia and Google, and this week overtook Samsung to become South Korea's most valuable company.
Rolf Bulk, head of semiconductors and infrastructure at Futurum Group, framed the listing as a question of access in comments to CNBC.
SK Hynix is "one of the clearest ways" to play AI-driven memory demand, he said, but its Korea-only listing has shut out many global investors.
The ADR listing would broaden the base and let the firm's "true corporate value" be properly judged, the company said.
On the mechanics, SK Hynix plans to issue up to 17.79m new shares, worth 45.45tn won, in the form of American Depositary Receipts on Nasdaq, according to Reuters, with ten ADRs representing one common share.
The company will start bookbuilding on July 6 and set the final offer price on July 9 ahead of a Nasdaq debut the following day.
Reuters valued the raise at US$29.43bn and CNBC at US$29.65bn.
BofA Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Securities are managing the offering.
Not everyone sees a fundamental shift.
The listing "should not materially change" the outlook on SK Hynix or memory, Gary Tan, a Singapore-based portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments, told Reuters.
The raise "appears large but implies only limited dilution," he said, modest against mid-term capex plans.
SK Hynix shares surged more than 12 percent on Thursday and closed 13 percent higher in Seoul lifted by the listing plan and stronger-than-expected results from Micron.
Micron's revenue more than quadrupled in the fiscal third quarter, the company reported, and it jumped more than 17 percent to a record high, briefly surpassing Meta Platforms and Tesla in market value.
The company added that customers had committed US$22bn to lock in supplies of memory chips.
The results reinforced expectations that AI memory remains supply-constrained, a positive read for SK Hynix.
"We expect tight conditions to persist beyond calendar 2027," Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said, pointing to strong demand and structural supply constraints, as per Reuters.
JP Morgan said it saw little sign of demand destruction, recommending investors "add on any dips" while keeping an overweight stance on South Korea, the wire service reported.
The optimism is not unqualified.
Global tech shares fell earlier in the week, Reuters noted, as US chip stocks retreated from record highs and investors questioned how quickly heavy data centre spending would translate into profits.
Nvidia, the world's most valuable company, fell 2.3 percent even as the broader rally took hold.
SK Hynix said it will use the proceeds to build chip factories in South Korea and buy chipmaking equipment such as an extreme ultraviolet scanner from Dutch supplier ASML.
The company is also building its first US production facility, a US$4bn advanced chip-packaging plant in Indiana, CNBC reported, and developing its Yongin semiconductor cluster, expected to begin operations in 2027.
