Kwak No-jung, CEO of SK Hynix, announced the decision to halt the initial public offering (IPO) of its U.S. NAND flash subsidiary Solidigm, citing market volatility and adjustments in the semiconductor sector. He also confirmed plans to return profits from the investment in Japan's Kioxia to shareholders through a special dividend.
During a conference call on October 28 to discuss SK Hynix's third-quarter earnings, Kwak stated, "After considering the recent volatility in the financial markets and the adjustments in semiconductor stock prices, we have determined that it is difficult to achieve the expected benefits from an IPO at this time."
He added, "We have decided to stop the pre-IPO and IPO review for Solidigm."
Initially, SK Hynix had been exploring ways to secure funding for new production facilities at Solidigm to meet the growing demand for AI data center storage. The plan aimed to reduce investment burdens while expanding shareholder returns through external capital raised via an IPO.
Kwak emphasized, "Solidigm will continue to strengthen its competitiveness in the AI data center storage market and secure growth opportunities. We will pursue investment and funding strategies that align with enhancing the corporate and shareholder value of both Solidigm and SK Hynix."
On the same day, Kwak also revealed plans for a special dividend utilizing profits from the Kioxia investment.
He stated, "We have maintained the principle of sharing most of the returns from strategic investments with our shareholders. In line with this principle, we intend to return the profits realized from the Kioxia investment this year to our shareholders as a special dividend."
Kwak added, "While preparing for the future, we will fill the temporarily reduced shareholder return capacity with the results of strategic investments and continue to invest boldly for sustainable growth."
Previously, SK Hynix had announced that there were no confirmed plans regarding the distribution of approximately 20 trillion won in profits from the Kioxia investment, of which 16 trillion won was being considered for special dividends.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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