SK hynix halts US stock market listing of memory unit Solidigm
The memory giant has shelved plans to list its SSD subsidiary in the US. It cites market conditions – but Seoul's financial regulators had already voiced concerns.
Symbolic image · Photo: ITEagle Europe - Sebastiaan Broekhoven / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
South Korean chipmaker SK hynix on Friday halted its review of an initial public offering for its US subsidiary Solidigm. A pre-IPO fundraising round with investors is also off the table. California-based Solidigm makes NAND flash memory and SSDs and was formed in 2021 after SK hynix acquired that business from Intel. Media reports in August had put a possible valuation at up to $150 billion.
SK hynix officially attributed the move to volatile capital markets and recent losses in chip stocks, saying it remains committed to Solidigm's growth and that the tighter rules were not the direct reason. Before the decision, however, the heads of the Financial Supervisory Service and the Financial Services Commission said a US listing would fall under rules on duplicate listings, which aim to protect minority shareholders from dilution. According to the Korea Times, an industry source said the government's warnings may have weighed more heavily.
The decision comes at a weak moment for chip stocks: after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 6.7 percent on Thursday, Seoul's market opened more than 2 percent lower, with Samsung and SK hynix shares falling. According to the Korea Times, new US factories could now be financed from internal funds or together with outside partners. SK hynix has not ruled out a listing at a later date.