SK Hynix targets $29B Nasdaq ADR listing July 10; memory chip giant aims for US re-rating

SK Hynix, the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, filed for a Nasdaq ADR listing targeting July 10 and seeking to raise up to $29.65 billion (45.45 trillion won) through an offering of 17.79 million new shares. The transaction would rank among the largest equity issuances in history, surpassing Alibaba's 2014 US debut at $21.8 billion and approaching Saudi Aramco's $25.6 billion IPO from 2019. Trading is expected to begin July 10, with each ADR representing one common share; final pricing follows bookbuilding after the announcement.

SK Hynix is leveraging its position as the dominant supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI infrastructure, holding roughly 60% of the HBM market. The company has soared over 280% this year and now holds more than $1 trillion in market capitalization, becoming South Korea's most valuable company and surpassing Samsung Electronics for the first time in 25 years. The proceeds are earmarked entirely for capacity expansion: building the first fab at the Yongin cluster, an advanced packaging plant in Cheongju, and a $4 billion facility in Indiana.

For US investors, the Nasdaq listing removes the friction that kept Seoul-listed shares at roughly a 35% valuation discount to peer Micron Technology. HSBC analysts are applying a 20% ADR premium and upgrading their price target 38% on improved accessibility to global capital. The move comes weeks after Micron's strong quarterly results, reinforcing supply constraints in AI memory markets. For practitioners, the capital raise signals multi-year commitment to HBM supply and capacity, affecting cloud infrastructure capex and procurement timelines as hyperscalers compete for allocation from the two dominant suppliers.