SK Hynix shares jumped as much as 11% on Thursday after the South Korean chipmaker announced plans for a major Nasdaq listing that could raise up to $29.4 billion, tapping into strong investor appetite for AI-linked stocks.
The company said it plans to issue 17.79 million new shares in the form of American Depositary Receipts. If priced at the top end, the offering would raise about 45.45 trillion won, making it one of the largest listings ever attempted.
Investors reacted quickly, sending shares higher in Seoul as the move was seen as a way for SK Hynix to gain access to US capital markets, where AI semiconductor firms often command higher valuations than their Asian peers.
The listing is expected to begin trading on July 10, subject to regulatory approvals and market conditions.
SK Hynix has become one of the biggest winners of the AI boom, driven by demand for high-bandwidth memory chips used in advanced systems developed by companies like Nvidia and Google. These chips are critical for processing large volumes of data at high speed.
Its shares have quadrupled this year, even overtaking Samsung Electronics to become South Korea’s most valuable listed company.
If completed at the upper range, the deal would rank among the largest share sales globally, behind only SpaceX’s $85.7 billion offering and ahead of Saudi Aramco and Alibaba listings.
The company said proceeds will fund expansion, including its Yongin semiconductor cluster in South Korea and a $4 billion US facility in Indiana, alongside investments in advanced chipmaking equipment from ASML.
