SK Hynix Launches $28B Nasdaq Listing on AI Boom
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- SK Hynix will list about $28 billion in depository receipts on Nasdaq beginning Friday, selling 17.79 million new shares at a ratio of 10 ADRs per common share, with the final price set Thursday
- The deal would rank as the world's second-biggest share sale after SpaceX's $85.7 billion IPO, surpassing Saudi Aramco's $25.6 billion 2019 listing and Alibaba's 2014 offering
- SK Hynix shares are up 273% year-to-date despite a 4.2% Monday dip, as the chipmaker rides surging demand for its high-bandwidth memory chips used by Nvidia and Google in AI systems
- South Korea unveiled a $576 billion chip investment program anchored by SK Hynix and Samsung, with President Lee Jae Myung ordering officials to fast-track permits, land acquisition, and power supply
- SK Hynix separately announced a 100 trillion won ($64.38 billion) investment in new chip plants, including a NAND flash memory facility, as part of the national AI push
- HSBC plans to raise its SK Hynix valuation by applying a 20% premium to its previous 2.8x price-to-book multiple, reaching 3.4x, citing improved accessibility to global investors
- Analysts expect SK Hynix to join the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index, which would attract passive investment flows and help narrow the chipmaker's valuation gap with US rival Micron
Why it matters: A $28 billion raise at this scale vaults SK Hynix into the global AI-memory elite on par with SpaceX-era capital markets, while South Korea commits $576 billion in state-backed chip infrastructure to keep SK Hynix and Samsung at the front of the AI race. Inclusion in the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index would mechanically pull passive capital toward SK Hynix and compress its long-standing valuation discount to Micron.
