SK Hynix, a South Korean memory chip manufacturer, has completed its U.S. initial public offering, raising $26.5 billion. The company sold 177.9 million American depositary shares at $149 each, allowing U.S. investors to purchase shares at a fraction of the price in Seoul. This deal marks the largest U.S. IPO by a non-American company, surpassing Alibaba’s $25 billion IPO in 2014. The stock began trading on the Nasdaq under the temporary ticker SKHYV, with regular trading set to commence on July 13 under the ticker SKHY. The stock opened 14% above its IPO price, showing strong investor interest. The offering was priced at a 2.7% premium to SK Hynix’s three-day average in Seoul, yet demand exceeded available shares by more than seven times, according to media reports. This performance defies the Korea Discount, a phenomenon where Korean companies typically trade at a discount to their global counterparts due to factors like complex governance and geopolitical risks. SK Hynix’s success is attributed to its production of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a critical component for AI GPUs, which Nvidia relies on as a primary supplier. The funds raised will be allocated to a new South Korean fab, a packaging facility, and EUV scanners for next-generation chip manufacturing. Meanwhile, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has urged SK Hynix and other global chipmakers to invest in U.S. manufacturing to reduce reliance on South Korea. Micron, a competitor of SK Hynix, has already committed to investing $250 billion in U.S. manufacturing, creating over 90,000 jobs. The timing of Lutnick’s request is significant, as both Korean chipmakers have pledged more than $550 billion for new manufacturing investments in South Korea. The U.S. government is pushing for greater domestic chip production to maintain technological leadership.
Source: techcrunch
