SK Hynix plans US IPO offering, with trading expected Friday

In short: SK Hynix says it plans a US stock offering that should let US investors buy into the company as demand for memory chips rises with AI.

What happened

SK Hynix, a South Korean company that makes memory chips, said it plans to sell nearly 17.8 million shares in a US initial public offering, also called an IPO (when a company sells shares to the public for the first time in a market).

In this offering, SK Hynix will use American depositary receipts, or ADRs. ADRs are certificates that let people in the US buy shares in a foreign company without using a foreign stock market (like buying a ticket that stands in for the real share). SK Hynix said each ADR will represent one tenth of a common share.

The company is expected to set the final price for the ADRs on Thursday and start trading in the US on Friday. Bloomberg estimated the deal could raise about $28 billion, based on SK Hynix’s recent share price in Seoul, if demand is strong.

Why it matters

This matters because AI systems need a lot of memory, which is the part of a computer that stores and moves data while programs run (like a workbench where materials are kept within easy reach). TechCrunch reports SK Hynix’s revenue and stock price have jumped as big tech companies build more AI-focused data centers, which has contributed to a shortage of some memory chips. If the IPO draws strong interest, it could shape how investors and companies fund more chip production, and it may also affect the cost and supply of electronics that rely on these parts.

Source: TechCrunch AI