SK Hynix US offering is more than seven times oversubscribed
[NEW YORK/ SEOUL] SK Hynix’s US listing is more than seven times oversubscribed, according to people familiar with the matter, as the South Korean memory chipmaker prepares to price its offering Thursday (Jul 9).
The South Korean chipmaker is seeking to raise 43 trillion won (US$28 billion) in one of the world’s largest new share sales, Reuters reported. This comprises the sale of 177.9 million American depositary receipts (ADRs).
The offering has attracted demand from institutional investors including global long-only funds, technology sector-focused funds, sovereign wealth funds and Asia-focused global investors, some of the people said.
Each SK Hynix ADR is equivalent to a tenth of a common share, according to an earlier filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Based on Wednesday’s closing price in Seoul of 2.076 million won each, the US offering would raise about US$24.5 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations.
At that size, it would rank among the largest ever debuts in the US by a foreign company, second only to Alibaba Group’s US$25 billion debut, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Deliberations are ongoing and details of the US listing could change, the people said. A spokesperson for SK Hynix declined to comment.
Underwriters have told investors that pricing guidance is expected to come after the South Korean stock market closes on Thursday with allocations finalised later in the day in US time, a separate source has previously said.
The offering comes as the Korea-listed shares of SK Hynix as well as rivals such as US-listed Micron Technology have fallen sharply in recent days, as runaway enthusiasm for artificial intelligence infrastructure bets appeared to cool.
SK Hynix shares declined 5.7 per cent in Korea on Wednesday and are now down 30 per cent from a record-high close in late June, though they remain roughly triple where they started the year.