SK Hynix Prices $26.5 billion U.S. ADR Offering
SK Hynix (KS:000660) successfully priced 177.9 million American Depositary Receipts at $149 per ADR, raising approximately $26.5 billion. The offering represents one of the largest overseas equity raisings ever undertaken by an Asian company and underscores continued investor appetite for firms that supply artificial‑intelligence infrastructure.
The pricing resulted in a modest share price increase of 0.6%, with the stock trading at 2,198,000 won, while South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index rose 3.8% on the same day. Investors appeared to look past the dilution effect, focusing instead on the strong institutional demand that drove the heavily oversubscribed deal.
The capital raised is earmarked to finance new fabrication facilities and related equipment as SK Hynix expands production of high‑bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. HBM is a critical component used alongside Nvidia’s AI accelerators in data‑centre applications, and SK Hynix has emerged as Nvidia’s leading HBM supplier, placing the company at the centre of the global AI investment cycle.
Although the stock has retreated roughly a quarter from its recent record highs amid a broader pullback in AI‑linked chipmakers, it remains up about 680% over the past twelve months, reflecting explosive earnings growth driven by demand for AI memory chips that continues to outstrip supply.
Beyond the capital raise, the U.S. listing on Nasdaq under the ticker SKHY is viewed as strategically important. A Nasdaq presence could broaden SK Hynix’s shareholder base and help narrow its valuation gap with U.S.-listed rival Micron Technology, which trades at a higher forward‑earnings multiple despite trailing SK Hynix in the HBM market.
Investors will now monitor the ADR debut on Nasdaq to gauge whether Wall Street assigns a premium valuation to one of the AI industry’s most important chip suppliers following the heavily oversubscribed offering.