SK Hynix raises $26.5B in record US debut
What's the story
SK Hynix, a leading South Korean memory chip manufacturer and major supplier to AI chip giant NVIDIA, has raised $26.5 billion (KRW 40 trillion) in its debut on the US stock market. The company sold 177.9 million American depositary shares (ADRs) at $149 each. The deal is the biggest-ever US debut by a non-American company and surpasses Alibaba's previous record of $25 billion in 2014.
Trading details
Shares start trading on NASDAQ
The shares started trading on NASDAQ on Friday under the temporary ticker SKHYV. Regular trading will begin next week when it will officially change to SKHY. Despite pricing its US shares at a 2.7% premium to its three-day average in Seoul, demand for the offering was reportedly over seven times more than the number of available shares.
Market performance
Market value surpasses $1 trillion
SK Hynix's market value surpassed $1 trillion in May, driven by the AI chip boom. Its share price has more than tripled in South Korea this year, along with Samsung Electronics, boosting the benchmark Kospi index by over 70% during the same period. The company has also announced plans to invest heavily in developing South Korea's chip-making and AI capabilities over the coming years.
Market implications
Risks involved with NASDAQ listing
The US listing gives SK Hynix easier access to potential investment from the world's largest economy, which has fewer barriers than South Korea. However, there are risks involved with the NASDAQ listing, especially if investors divert funds toward the US and away from South Korea's stock market. Despite these challenges, both SK Hynix and Samsung have stock market valuations of over $1 trillion.