SEOUL, July 10 (AJP) - SK hynix began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on Friday after raising a record $26.5 billion in the largest U.S. share sale by a foreign company.
The South Korean memory chipmaker's American depositary shares initially traded under the temporary ticker SKHYV before regular-way trading under SKHY.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and SK hynix Chief Executive Kwak Noh-jung joined other senior executives at the opening bell ceremony at Nasdaq MarketSite in New York to mark the company's U.S. market debut.
Speaking at the ceremony, Kwak described the United States as the "epicenter of AI" and said the listing would strengthen SK hynix's ties with customers, partners and talent driving the industry's growth.
"The United States is the epicenter of AI. The customers needing AI innovation are here. The partners building the ecosystem are here. And the talent driving the industry is here. This strengthens our connection to all of them," Kwak said.
The offering raised approximately $26.5 billion through the sale of 177.9 million American depositary shares priced at $149 each. Each ADS represents one-tenth of an SK hynix common share listed in Seoul.
The company said the offering was the largest-ever ADR issuance and the largest U.S. share sale by a foreign company, surpassing Alibaba's roughly $25 billion U.S. offering in 2014.
The offering price represented a 2.7 percent premium to the average closing price of SK hynix shares over the previous three trading sessions, an uncommon outcome for a large equity offering, which is typically priced at a discount.
The proceeds will be used to finance semiconductor fabrication plants, advanced packaging facilities and manufacturing equipment as SK hynix expands production capacity to meet rapidly growing demand for AI memory.
Kwak said the ADR listing would also broaden the company's global shareholder base by making it easier for international investors to access SK hynix shares.
"It opens a new door to investors around the world. Our ADR listing makes that access easier, and we are pleased to welcome a broader community of global investors to join our journey," he said.
The company currently leads the global HBM market, holding a 56.4 percent market share by revenue in the first quarter, according to IDC data cited in its U.S. regulatory filing.
Industry officials said the successful pricing reflected strong global investor confidence in SK hynix's leadership in AI memory, particularly its position as a key supplier of HBM for Nvidia's AI accelerators.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
