SK Hynix ADRs are priced at $149 per share, raising approximately $26.5 billion, which could set a new record for foreign companies listing in the U.S. Institutional demand exceeded seven times the offering size, reflecting strong investor interest. The shares are expected to begin pre-trading under the ticker “SKHYV” on Friday and officially list on July 13.
$SK hynix (SKHY.US)$ The American Depositary Receipt (ADR) offering is set to launch imminently and is expected to price at a premium, potentially setting a new record for foreign companies raising capital in the U.S.
On July 9, according to Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter, SK Hynix plans to price its ADRs at $149 per share, representing a premium of approximately 3.1% over the equivalent value of its ordinary shares closed on Thursday in Seoul. At this price, the offering would raise around $26.5 billion, surpassing Alibaba’s $25 billion U.S. IPO in 2014 to become the largest-ever initial equity offering by a foreign company in the United States.
The report, citing informed sources, stated that a total of 177.9 million ADRs are being offered, with institutional investor demand exceeding seven times the available shares. Investors include major global long-only funds and sovereign wealth funds, reflecting robust international appetite for exposure to the AI memory leader.
However, the report noted that related discussions are still ongoing, and the final offering price and size may still be adjusted.
AI memory chip giant to debut on Nasdaq
The offering comes amid significant volatility in valuations across the AI supply chain.
On Thursday, SK Hynix’s ordinary shares closed at KRW 2,186,000, equivalent to approximately $144.5 per ADR. As of now, the stock has retraced about 25% from its all-time high reached at the end of June, yet it remains up more than twofold year-to-date. Micron Technology’s shares have also experienced sharp recent fluctuations, reflecting market repricing of expectations around the pace of investment in AI infrastructure.
From the subscription perspective, institutional investors have not significantly pulled back despite short-term volatility, indicating continued confidence in SK Hynix’s long-term growth prospects as the leader in AI high-bandwidth memory (HBM).
The IPO is jointly led by Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan as bookrunners, with nine additional institutions participating in the underwriting. The ADRs are scheduled to begin pre-IPO trading on Friday under the symbol “SKHYV” on Nasdaq and will officially list under the ticker “SKHY” on July 13.
This U.S. listing is also a key component of South Korea’s broader semiconductor industry expansion strategy. SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics are planning to align with the South Korean government’s national investment initiative—totaling approximately $880 billion—to significantly increase domestic investments in AI and semiconductors, further solidifying Korea’s competitive edge in the global AI chip supply chain.
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