SK Hynix seeks $29.4 billion US ADR listing starting July 10

SK Hynix Inc. plans to raise as much as 45.45 trillion won ($29.4 billion) through the listing of American Depositary Receipts in New York, with trading expected to begin July 10, as the memory chip maker seeks to capitalize on its dominant position in the AI semiconductor boom.

The company set the ADR price at 255,500 won per share, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. The amount is subject to change after bookbuilding, SK Hynix said. The South Korean financial regulator's review could be completed by July 3, the Korea Economic Daily reported earlier, raising expectations that trading may begin as early as next month.

"SK Hynix's US listing would broaden its global investor base and improve access to capital markets," Chief Executive Officer Kwak Noh-Jung told shareholders in March, when the company first disclosed its ADR plans. The offering is expected to rank among the largest overseas equity raises by a South Korean company.

The deal size would be comparable to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s 2014 initial public offering, which raised $25 billion and was the largest at the time. SK Hynix plans to issue shares in South Korea and deposit them with the Korea Securities Depository, which will serve as the underlying securities for the ADRs. Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. are the arrangers.

SK Hynix has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom through its dominant position in high-bandwidth memory chips used in Nvidia Corp.'s AI accelerators. The stock has surged more than 300% this year, helping propel South Korea's stock market to one of the world's best performances. The company's market value following its rally underpins the industry estimates that the offering could reach 40 trillion won to 45 trillion won.

The listing aims to narrow the valuation gap between SK Hynix and US semiconductor peers by increasing visibility among global investors. The company's ADR offering comes as demand for AI memory chips continues to outpace supply, with SK Hynix shipping next-generation HBM4E samples earlier this year. The company has said the US listing would strengthen its ability to fund production capacity expansion for chips used in artificial intelligence applications.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.