SK Hynix Inc. kicked off the formal marketing process for its U.S. listing on Monday, as the South Korean chipmaker looks to capitalize on surging investor demand for the high-flying memory-chip sector. The company is seeking to sell American depositary receipts representing about 17.79 million common shares, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Monday, which would be valued at about US$28 billion based on Friday’s closing price in Seoul.
Massive IPO Amid AI Boom
The offering of ADRs comes after the firm’s Seoul-traded stock rallied about 260 per cent this year, propelling the company’s market capitalization above US$1 trillion. A U.S. listing for SK Hynix opens up a powerful fundraising channel for the world’s top supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), as demand for equipment used in artificial intelligence computing turbocharges companies’ spending plans. The company, and longtime rival Samsung Electronics Co., are poised to ramp up investment in the country as part of a South Korean government-led initiative worth US$880 billion.
Orders Exceed Available Shares
The offering has already drawn more orders than there are ADRs available, according to terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg News. Baillie Gifford, Coatue Management and Situational Awareness Partners have indicated an interest in buying as much as US$7 billion worth of ADRs in the first-time share sale. SK Hynix’s U.S. listing joins a rush of tech giants tapping the market’s deep pools of capital to fund the buildout of AI infrastructure. SpaceX (formally Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) held the largest initial public offering in history earlier in June, while Alphabet Inc. is set to raise US$85 billion to fund its AI plans.
Timing and Market Impact
The South Korean company expects the ADRs to begin trading on July 10, according to an earlier regulatory filing. At the proposed size, SK Hynix’s ADR sale would be among the top three first-time share sales ever, depending on the exchange rate. It would rival Saudi Aramco’s US$29.4 billion 2019 debut, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Each ADR represents a 10th of a common share of SK Hynix, the filing shows. The shares fell 3.4 per cent in Korea on Monday, bringing down the potential size of the U.S. offering from US$29 billion when the company filed in late June.
Analyst Perspectives
SK Hynix is planning to “capitalize on global investor interest with a U.S. stock listing” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. “The big question is whether this listing has come a little too late. Memory chip stocks have lost momentum in recent weeks, but investors might take the view that SK Hynix has solid long-term prospects rather than just being a flash in the pan.”
Strategic Position in HBM Market
With an offering that is expected to be the biggest ever listing by a foreign company on a U.S. exchange, SK Hynix is making an outsize bet on the market’s ability to absorb more fresh supply of AI-related stock, even from a pioneer. The company’s early shift to embrace HBM made it the go-to provider for Nvidia Corp., bringing a huge windfall. It controlled 57 per cent of the global HBM market share by revenue in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to data from Counterpoint Research.
