The South Korean memory chipmaker priced 177.9 million ADRs at $149 each, topping Alibaba's 2014 U.S. offering
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SK Hynix is set to list its American depositary receipts on the Nasdaq $NDAQ on Friday, raising $26.5 billion in what ranks as the largest U.S. share sale ever completed by a foreign company. The offering surpasses the $25 billion Alibaba raised in its 2014 U.S. market entry.
Priced at $149 apiece on Thursday, the offering comprised 177.9 million ADRs, with every ten ADRs corresponding to a single underlying common share. Trading on Friday will use the provisional ticker SKHYV, with the permanent designation SKHY taking effect when trading resumes Monday.
Investor appetite proved especially strong, with orders reportedly covering seven times the number of shares on offer before the deal was priced. The company said it plans to use the proceeds to expand manufacturing facilities in South Korea and purchase equipment, including extreme ultraviolet lithography scanners.
Among the three companies that produce HBM chips, SK Hynix leads the field, claiming a 56.4% share of that market based on its SEC filing. All three are suppliers to Nvidia $NVDA, and the Nasdaq listing opens up access to SK Hynix for American investors who want exposure to the AI memory buildout.
Janus Henderson portfolio manager Richard Clode told Reuters the ADR debut fills a genuine gap, giving internationally focused investors outside Korea their first route into the world's top HBM producer, while also offering convenience advantages to those who already trade in Seoul but prefer not to operate across a difficult time-zone difference.
SK Hynix launched formal marketing for its U.S. offering earlier this week, targeting a raise that has since been finalized at $26.5 billion. The company crossed a $1 trillion market capitalization for the first time in May, closing 9.3% higher on the Korea Exchange that day as demand for HBM chips tightened supply across the industry. Its Seoul-listed stock has climbed 174% over the past six months and 634% over the past year.
Analysts have noted the Nasdaq debut could help close the valuation gap between SK Hynix and its U.S. peer Micron $MU Technology. Jupiter Asst Management's Sam Konrad, who manages Asia equity income for the firm, told Reuters that the new listing may ultimately drive a valuation rerating for SK Hynix's Seoul-traded shares, which have historically carried a price-to-earnings ratio below Micron's despite what he sees as comparable or superior fundamentals.
The global HBM supply chain runs through Micron, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix, all of which count Nvidia among their major customers. Until now, buying into that trio directly through U.S. exchanges was largely out of reach for American investors, a constraint the Nasdaq listing begins to ease for SK Hynix.
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