Controversy resurfaces over SK hynix's potential Solidigm IPO

Solidigm selected Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as lead managers for a potential U.S. IPO, despite SK hynix saying Thursday that nothing has been decided. The offering could raise approximately $10 billion and value the NAND flash memory subsidiary at up to $100 billion. The potential overseas listing has renewed concerns about duplicate listings and shareholder protection, while Korean regulators warn that penalties could apply if overseas offerings fail to meet requirements.

The Financial Services Commission began allowing parent-subsidiary listings only in exceptional cases from Aug. 3, subject to five obligations including assessing shareholder impact and protecting minority shareholders.

Solidigm is owned by U.S.-based AI Company, which is controlled by SK hynix, while SK Square and SK Inc. sit above SK hynix in the ownership structure.

Solidigm accounted for approximately 9.3 percent of SK hynix’s sales in the first half of this year based on the companies’ reported sales.

The Financial Services Commission said companies pursuing overseas subsidiary listings could face penalties after listing if they fail to fulfill shareholder-protection requirements.

Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo urged SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to clarify whether Solidigm will pursue an IPO, citing shareholder losses associated with duplicate listings.

Published Oct 8, 2026 4:17 pm KST

Updated Oct 8, 2026 4:35 pm KST

A storage solution of Solidigm / Courtesy of Solidigm

Controversy has resurfaced over SK hynix’s reported efforts to list its NAND flash memory subsidiary Solidigm in the U.S., after reports said the company had selected lead managers for an initial public offering (IPO), despite repeatedly maintaining that “nothing has been confirmed.”

In an effort to protect retail investors, Korean financial regulators have introduced rules that prohibit parent-subsidiary listings in the domestic market in principle while allowing exceptions under certain conditions. However, because Solidigm is seeking an overseas listing, the case has raised questions over whether SK hynix could face regulatory penalties if it fails to comply with shareholder protection requirements.

Bloomberg reported Thursday that Solidigm has selected Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as lead underwriters for its planned IPO in the U.S. next year. The offering, if pursued, is expected to raise approximately $10 billion and value the NAND flash memory maker at up to $100 billion.

Solidigm's parent company, memory chip giant SK hynix, has maintained that no decision has been made regarding the IPO. In an Oct. 1 statement, SK hynix said that "nothing specific has been decided regarding Solidigm," adding that any decision on whether to use external or internal capital would “be made after comprehensively considering its economic impact on existing shareholders.”

The company reiterated its position in response to the Bloomberg report, saying: “We are reviewing various options to strengthen Solidigm’s competitiveness, but no decision has been made regarding its IPO.”

Rumors surrounding Solidigm's potential IPO circulated throughout the past summer, fueling controversy whether it is a duplicated listing of parent companies and subsidiaries among individual shareholders of SK hynix.

Solidigm's ownership structure involves multiple layers of parent companies. Solidigm is owned by U.S.-based AI Company, which is controlled by SK hynix. Above SK hynix are SK Square and SK Group's holding company, SK Inc.

Except for AI Company, all of these parent companies are publicly traded, and some investors argue that Solidigm's value is already reflected in their share prices. Critics say listing Solidigm separately could undermine the value of the parent companies and ultimately hurt their existing shareholders.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, front row right, and SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung, front row center, attend the company's opening bell ceremony at the Nasdaq market on the day of the company's American depository shares listing in New York City, U.S., July 10. Reuters-Yonhap

Similar controversies have emerged in Korea over the past IPOs of LG Energy Solution and the separate listings of major Kakao Group businesses. The overseas listings of LG Electronics' Indian subsidiary and Hyundai Motor's Indian subsidiary have also drawn similar criticism.

To address these concerns, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) began allowing parent-subsidiary listings only in exceptional cases from Aug. 3, requiring companies to fulfill five obligations, including assessing the impact of such listings on shareholders and protecting minority shareholders.

However, the restrictions on listings apply only to the domestic market.

According to the minutes of a July 22 meeting of the Securities and Futures Commission, a commissioner asked whether the chances of such penalties in domestic listings were slim because companies that fail to meet the requirements would be blocked from listing their subsidiaries in the first place. An FSC official confirmed this, but added that penalties could arise “in overseas listings because the Korea Exchange (KRX) does not review such offerings.”

This means that companies that fail to meet the five obligations would be barred from listing their subsidiaries domestically, while those pursuing overseas listings could face penalties after the listing if they fail to fulfill the requirements.

Some critics, however, argue that Solidigm's potential listing differs from past cases.

While companies such as LG Energy Solution were spun off from their parent companies' core businesses and listed separately, Solidigm was established following SK hynix's acquisition of Intel's NAND business and accounts for a relatively small share of SK hynix's consolidated revenue. Based on each company’s reported sales, Solidigm accounted approximately 9.3 percent of SK hynix’s sales in the first half of this year.

Against this backdrop, calls are growing for SK hynix to clarify its position on Solidigm's potential listing. Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the main opposition People Power Party wrote in a Facebook post Thursday that SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won should clearly state whether Solidigm will pursue an IPO.

“Retail shareholders have already suffered substantial financial losses from duplicate listings of subsidiaries, as seen in the case of LG Energy Solution,” Ahn wrote. “Since rumors of Solidigm's IPO first emerged, SK has consistently offered evasive explanations instead of clarifying the facts. … “How could SK treat its shareholders this way unless it sees them as nothing more than a source of money?”

尽管SK海力士周四表示尚未做出任何决定，但Solidigm已选定高盛和摩根士丹利作为其潜在美国IPO的主承销商。此次IPO预计可筹集约100亿美元，对这家NAND闪存子公司的估值最高可达1000亿美元。潜在的海外上市再次引发了人们对重复上市和股东权益保护的担忧，与此同时，韩国监管机构警告称，如果海外IPO未能满足相关规定，可能会面临处罚。

金融服务委员会从 8 月 3 日起开始只在特殊情况下允许母子公司上市，但须遵守五项义务，包括评估对股东的影响和保护少数股东的利益。

Solidigm 由美国人工智能公司所有，该公司由 SK 海力士控制，而 SK Square 和 SK 公司在所有权结构中位于 SK 海力士之上。

根据两家公司公布的销售额，Solidigm 约占 SK 海力士今年上半年销售额的 9.3%。

金融服务委员会表示，寻求海外子公司上市的公司，如果未能满足股东保护要求，上市后可能会面临处罚。

安哲洙议员敦促SK集团董事长崔泰元澄清Solidigm是否会进行IPO，理由是重复上市会造成股东损失。

发布于2026年10月8日下午4:17（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年10月8日下午4:35（韩国标准时间）

Solidigm 的存储解决方案 / 图片由 Solidigm 提供

SK海力士据称正努力将其NAND闪存子公司Solidigm在美国上市，引发争议。此前有报道称，该公司已选定首次公开募股（IPO）的主承销商，尽管该公司一再坚称“一切都尚未确定”。

为了保护散户投资者，韩国金融监管机构出台了相关规定，原则上禁止母子公司在韩国国内市场上市，但允许在特定情况下例外。然而，由于Solidigm寻求海外上市，此案引发了人们的疑问：如果SK海力士未能遵守股东保护规定，是否会面临监管处罚。

彭博社周四报道称，Solidigm已选定高盛和摩根士丹利作为其计划明年在美国进行的IPO的主承销商。如果IPO顺利进行，预计将筹集约100亿美元，并使这家NAND闪存制造商的估值达到1000亿美元。

Solidigm的母公司，存储芯片巨头SK海力士，一直坚称尚未就IPO做出任何决定。SK海力士在10月1日的一份声明中表示，“关于Solidigm，尚未做出任何具体决定”，并补充说，任何关于使用外部资金还是内部资金的决定都将“在全面考虑其对现有股东的经济影响后做出”。

针对彭博社的报道，该公司重申了其立场，称：“我们正在研究各种方案以增强 Solidigm 的竞争力，但尚未就其 IPO 做出任何决定。”

整个夏天，关于 Solidigm 可能进行 IPO 的传闻不断流传，引发了关于 SK 海力士个人股东是否将其母公司和子公司重复上市的争议。

Solidigm的股权结构涉及多层母公司。Solidigm由一家总部位于美国的AI公司所有，而这家AI公司又由SK海力士控制。SK海力士之上还有SK Square和SK集团的控股公司SK株式会社。

除了AI公司之外，这些母公司均为上市公司，一些投资者认为Solidigm的价值已经反映在这些公司的股价中。批评人士则表示，Solidigm单独上市可能会损害母公司的价值，最终损害现有股东的利益。

SK集团会长崔泰元（前排右）和SK海力士首席执行官郭卢正（前排中）于7月10日在美国纽约出席了公司在纳斯达克市场举行的美国存托凭证（ADS）上市敲钟仪式。（路透社-韩联社）

类似的争议也曾在韩国出现，例如LG能源解决方案公司之前的IPO以及Kakao集团旗下主要业务的单独上市。LG电子印度子公司和现代汽车印度子公司的海外上市也曾引发类似的批评。

为了解决这些担忧，金融服务委员会（FSC）从 8 月 3 日起开始只在特殊情况下允许母子公司上市，并要求公司履行五项义务，包括评估此类上市对股东的影响以及保护少数股东的利益。

但是，这些上市限制仅适用于国内市场。

根据韩国证券期货委员会7月22日的会议记录，一位委员询问，由于不符合上市要求的公司一开始就会被禁止将其子公司上市，因此在韩国国内上市中出现此类处罚的可能性是否很小。一位金融监督管理委员会（FSC）官员证实了这一点，但补充说，在海外上市中可能会出现处罚，“因为韩国交易所（KRX）不审查此类发行”。

这意味着未能履行五项义务的公司将被禁止在国内上市其子公司，而那些寻求在海外上市的公司，如果在上市后未能满足相关要求，则可能面临处罚。

然而，一些批评人士认为，Solidigm 的潜在上市案例与以往的案例有所不同。

虽然像LG能源解决方案这样的公司是从母公司的核心业务中剥离出来并单独上市的，但Solidigm是在SK海力士收购英特尔NAND业务后成立的，其在SK海力士合并收入中所占份额相对较小。根据各公司公布的销售额，Solidigm在今年上半年约占SK海力士总销售额的9.3%。

在此背景下，各界呼吁SK海力士澄清其对Solidigm潜在上市的立场。主要反对党国民力量党议员安哲洙周四在Facebook上发文称，SK集团董事长崔泰源应明确表态Solidigm是否会进行IPO。

“正如LG能源解决方案公司案例所示，零售股东已经因子公司重复上市而遭受了巨大的经济损失，”安写道。“自从Solidigm IPO传闻出现以来，SK一直含糊其辞，而非澄清事实。……SK怎能如此对待股东，除非它将股东仅仅视为赚钱的工具？”