(LEAD) SK hynix halts review of Solidigm U.S. IPO

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(ATTN: ADDS more info throughout, byline; CHANGES photo) By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- SK hynix Inc. said Friday it has decided to suspend plans for the listing of its U.S. subsidiary Solidigm, citing market conditions.

Reports have circulated that Solidigm was considering an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States as early as next year, potentially valuing the subsidiary at up to US$150 billion.

"We have decided to halt its review of a pre-IPO fundraising round and a subsequent IPO after taking into account overall capital market conditions," the South Korean chipmaker said.

However, the company said its commitment to investing in Solidigm's growth remains unchanged and that it will continue to explore alternatives to enhance shareholder value.

This image shows U.S. subsidiary Solidigm of SK hynix Inc., captured from Solidigm's website. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The decision comes amid strong opposition from shareholders and regulatory scrutiny over concerns that a separate listing could undermine the interests of minority shareholders.

South Korean financial regulators have said the planned offering could constitute a so-called "duplicate listing," potentially diluting the value of existing shareholders' stakes.

Solidigm sits within a multilayered corporate structure from SK Inc., SK Square Co., to SK hynix, raising concerns that a separate listing could exacerbate the so-called holding company discount, in which a parent company's stock trades below the value of its underlying assets.

Earlier this week, Lee Chan-jin, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, said both the Financial Services Commission and his agency viewed Solidigm as subject to restrictions on duplicate listings.

However, SK hynix said tighter government restrictions on duplicate listings were not the direct reason for its decision.

"Our assessment of the economic benefits of an IPO and the need to support Solidigm's growth has not changed," a company official said, asking not to be named. "The decision was made from the perspective of shareholder value, taking current market conditions into account."

The decision also comes as financial market volatility has increased and semiconductor stocks have undergone corrections.

U.S. NAND flash memory maker Sandisk Corp. has seen its shares fall about 40 percent from their peak in June.

Industry observers say the pullback in peer stocks has prompted renewed questions over whether Solidigm could command its originally anticipated valuation in an IPO.

SK hynix had considered an IPO as a way to raise external capital to secure new production facilities in the U.S. and meet growing memory demand in the artificial intelligence (AI) era.

An IPO could have boosted the company's consolidated cash flow, providing greater financial flexibility for facility investments and shareholder returns, including dividends, and share buybacks and cancellations, the company had said.

A successful listing could also have enhanced Solidigm's growth potential, which SK hynix believes is not fully reflected in its own corporate valuation, to be reassessed by the market.

SK hynix had been weighing various options, including direct investment and raising external capital through an IPO.

Solidigm, based in California, is SK hynix's second-tier subsidiary specializing in NAND flash memory and solid-state drives (SSDs). The company was established in 2021 after Intel Corp.'s NAND flash memory and SSD business was acquired by SK hynix.

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(LEAD) SK hynix halts review of Solidigm U.S. IPO

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（注意：全文及署名均有补充信息；更换照片）金汉柱

首尔，10 月 23 日（韩联社）—— SK 海力士公司周五表示，鉴于市场状况，已决定暂停其美国子公司 Solidigm 的上市计划。

有报道称，Solidigm 正在考虑最早于明年在美国进行首次公开​​募股 (IPO)，该子公司的估值可能高达 1500 亿美元。

这家韩国芯片制造商表示：“考虑到整体资本市场状况，我们决定暂停对IPO前融资轮和后续IPO的审查。”

然而，该公司表示，其对投资Solidigm发展的承诺依然不变，并将继续探索提升股东价值的替代方案。

这张图片显示的是SK海力士公司旗下的美国子公司Solidigm，图片来自Solidigm官网。（图片禁止出售）（韩联社）

这项决定是在股东强烈反对和监管机构审查的情况下做出的，监管机构担心单独上市可能会损害少数股东的利益。

韩国金融监管机构表示，此次计划中的发行可能构成所谓的“重复上市”，从而可能稀释现有股东的股份价值。

Solidigm 位于 SK 公司、SK Square 公司和 SK 海力士公司等多层级企业结构中，这引发了人们的担忧，即单独上市可能会加剧所谓的控股公司折价，即母公司股票的交易价格低于其基础资产的价值。

本周早些时候，金融监督院院长李灿镇表示，金融服务委员会和他的机构都认为 Solidigm 受到重复上市限制。

然而，SK海力士表示，政府对重复上市的限制收紧并不是其做出这一决定的直接原因。

一位不愿透露姓名的公司官员表示：“我们对IPO的经济效益以及支持Solidigm增长的必要性的评估没有改变。这一决定是从股东价值的角度出发，并考虑到当前市场状况而做出的。”

与此同时，金融市场波动加剧，半导体股票也经历了回调。

美国NAND闪存制造商闪迪公司的股价已从6月份的峰值下跌了约40%。

业内观察人士表示，同行股票的回调引发了人们对 Solidigm 能否在 IPO 中获得最初预期估值的再次质疑。

SK 海力士曾考虑通过 IPO 筹集外部资金，以确保在美国建立新的生产设施，并满足人工智能 (AI) 时代不断增长的内存需求。

该公司曾表示，IPO 可以提升公司的合并现金流，为设施投资和股东回报（包括股息、股票回购和注销）提供更大的财务灵活性。

成功上市也可能提升 Solidigm 的增长潜力，SK 海力士认为这尚未完全反映在其公司估值中，有待市场重新评估。

SK海力士一直在权衡各种方案，包括直接投资和通过IPO筹集外部资金。

Solidigm总部位于加利福尼亚州，是SK海力士的二级子公司，专门从事NAND闪存和固态硬盘（SSD）业务。该公司成立于2021年，此前SK海力士收购了英特尔公司的NAND闪存和SSD业务。

SK海力士重申尚未就Solidigm的美国IPO做出决定。

SK海力士将在美国成立新的人工智能解决方案公司

（导语）SK海力士暂停对Solidigm美国IPO的审查