SK Hynix Inc.'s $28 billion US listing has been multiple times oversubscribed, ahead of its pricing on Thursday. This potential $28 billion share sale would mark the biggest-ever US listing for a foreign company. The offering involves 177.9 million American depositary receipts (ADRs), with each ADR representing one-tenth of a common share. This offering accounts for 2.5% of SK Hynix's total market value, which has already exceeded $1 trillion, tripling this year.
The memory chipmaker's offering has attracted significant interest from institutional investors, including global long-only funds and technology-focused investors. Approximately 1,000 institutional investors participated in a management marketing call on Monday. Baillie Gifford, Coatue Management, and Situational Awareness Partners have expressed interest in purchasing up to $7 billion worth of ADRs in this initial public offering.
The ADRs are expected to price early Thursday afternoon in New York, with trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market anticipated to begin on Friday. Limits on converting the South Korea-listed shares into ADRs may create arbitrage restrictions, potentially leading to the ADRs trading at a premium. Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are among the financial institutions managing the deal.
This US listing provides SK Hynix with access to the world's deepest equity market and its strong demand for artificial intelligence-related investments. The company, a leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) crucial for AI data centers, aims to close the valuation gap with its US rival, Micron Technology Inc. The listing is a strategic move to capitalize on the booming AI sector, which has been a primary driver of the S&P 500 Index's performance.
