SK Hynix plans to raise $29.65 billion by issuing 17.79 million new shares on the Nasdaq as soon as July 10, according to the company's filing, marking the largest American Depositary Receipt (ADR) offering in history and a decisive move to deepen its access to US capital markets.
The listing comes as the South Korean memory chip giant races to fund the construction of advanced AI memory fabrication plants and secure extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tools. All proceeds from the offering will go directly to expanding production capacity for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and other AI-driven chips, according to the company's regulatory filing.
SK Hynix set the ADR price range at roughly $1,667 per share, with 17.79 million new shares hitting the market. The company's existing shares trade on the Korea Exchange, where SK Hynix commands a market capitalization of approximately $120 billion. The Nasdaq debut, slated for July 10, would surpass every prior ADR deal, dwarfing Alibaba's $25 billion 2014 listing. "This is a landmark moment for the global semiconductor industry," a company spokesperson said in the filing. "US investors will now have direct access to the world's second-largest memory chipmaker at a time when AI demand is reshaping the entire supply chain."
Analysts expect the offering to close within days of the July 10 debut, with underwriters including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley managing the sale. The company has not disclosed whether it will pursue a secondary listing on the Nasdaq or maintain its primary listing in Seoul, but executives have indicated the US listing is designed to broaden its investor base and reduce reliance on Asian markets.
