SK hynix halts review of US IPO for Solidigm after regulators' duplicate-listing warnings

SK hynix said on 23 October that it has decided to stop reviewing a pre-IPO and an initial public offering for Solidigm, its US subsidiary. According to Maeil Business, the company said in a disclosure that Solidigm had reviewed various funding options to expand production capacity and strengthen competitiveness, but that after weighing capital market conditions it decided to halt the review. Seoul Economic Daily reported that the pre-IPO work to bring in outside investors before a listing has also stopped. [ 4 , 5 , 8 , 17 ]

The company said it had compared options including direct investment and raising outside capital through an IPO to secure new US production facilities for rising AI memory demand. It said outside capital would raise consolidated cash flow, leaving room for facility investment, dividends and share buybacks. It said volatile financial markets and a correction in chip stocks made it hard to obtain the expected effects. A company official told Chosun Ilbo that Solidigm's growth potential and investment needs had not changed, and the company said it will keep looking at investment timing, size and funding methods. [ 13 , 15 , 17 ]

The decision came days after the heads of the financial regulators spoke publicly. Financial Supervisory Service governor Lee Chan-jin (이찬진) told a National Assembly audit on 19 October that both the Financial Services Commission and the FSS judged the listing to conflict with the duplicate-listing rules. Maeil Business reported that he also said the FSC was waiting for an official interpretation on whether Solidigm would be subject to a domestic securities filing. Financial Services Commission chairman Lee Eog-weon (이억원) said on 22 October that the listing is subject to the duplicate-listing guidelines, which apply to domestic and overseas listings, and that both SK hynix and SK Square must meet five obligations as parent companies. [ 4 , 13 , 15 , 17 ]

Seoul Economic Daily said the shareholder backlash was also a main background factor. It reported that existing shareholders argued a separate Solidigm listing could cause SK hynix to be valued at a discount, and that new share issuance would dilute their indirect stake. It added that domestic shares fell sharply and that lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo (안철수) of the People Power Party repeatedly raised concerns. Korea Economic Daily's exclusive said SK hynix accepted concerns about damage to corporate value from duplicate listing and strong shareholder opposition. An unnamed senior industry official told Seoul Economic Daily the withdrawal followed criticism at the audit and a search for ways to raise shareholder value. SK hynix's own statements cited market conditions. [ 1 , 4 , 13 , 15 ]

Solidigm was launched in 2021 when SK hynix bought Intel's NAND flash business. Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that SK hynix had picked Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as lead IPO underwriters. Seoul Economic Daily said projections had put Solidigm's value at up to $150 billion and that a Nasdaq listing as early as next year could raise $10 billion to $15 billion. Chosun Ilbo said the controversy began after Reuters reported on 25 September that a US listing was being considered, and that SK hynix shares fell more than 5% on 28 September. Korea Economic Daily also ran a headline quoting a Bloomberg expert who said duplicate listings should not be blocked unconditionally. [ 3 , 4 , 13 , 15 ]