Key Takeaways:
SK Hynix's U.S. NAND subsidiary Solidigm is pursuing a pre-IPO of up to 10 trillion won ($7 billion) at a 50 trillion won valuation ahead of a Nasdaq listing, even as the parent says no plan is finalized.
"There are hopes of achieving two goals—normalizing Solidigm's capital structure and easing SK hynix's borrowing burden—but unless fundamental issues such as geopolitical risks and aging facilities are resolved, it will be difficult for investors to fully accept the targeted valuation," an investment banking industry official said.
The round, reported by The Korea Economic Daily, would be underwritten by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, with Solidigm gauging interest from global alternative asset managers and sovereign wealth funds. The company has begun recruiting a director of external reporting in San Jose to oversee SEC filings including Form 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, a role that lists IPO experience as preferred. SK Hynix said in an Aug. 5 filing that Solidigm is "reviewing various options" but nothing is finalized, with a re-disclosure due by Sept. 4.
A listing would give SK Hynix a dual parent-subsidiary presence in U.S. capital markets after its own Nasdaq debut in July raised about $26.5 billion, and fund NAND technology transitions and enterprise SSD expansion as AI data centers drive demand for high-capacity storage.
The fundraising comes as NAND prices recover. SK Hynix group NAND revenue reached $7.53 billion in the first quarter, up 44.6 percent quarter over quarter, for a 17.6 percent global share behind Samsung's 31.6 percent, according to TrendForce. Solidigm has shipped the industry's first 122-terabyte QLC enterprise SSD and is developing a 245-terabyte model that can store about 50,000 movies, aimed at AI data center workloads.
SK Hynix acquired Intel's NAND flash and SSD business for about $9 billion in 2020, establishing Solidigm in the U.S. in 2021. A successful listing at the 50 trillion won target would mark a multi-fold return on that purchase.
Solidigm's financial base remains fragile despite a return to annual profit in 2024. The company posted cumulative net losses of nearly 8 trillion won from 2021 to 2023, and shareholder equity fell to minus 906 billion won in the first half of 2024, a state of complete capital impairment. Its debt ratio stood at 4,484.6 percent last year, about 14 times the roughly 200 percent level considered healthy, while operating funds lent by SK Hynix had grown to 11.32 trillion won by early 2025.
The Dalian fab in China, Solidigm's only overseas production base and a site responsible for about 30 percent of SK Hynix's NAND output, has been blocked from acquiring advanced equipment such as EUV lithography by U.S. export controls. Solidigm plans to restart a long-idled expansion at Dalian Fab 2 in the second half of 2026 with a 238-layer NAND line and convert Fab 1 to 192-layer NAND, though large-scale investment remains constrained by U.S.-China tensions.
For SK Hynix, the listing would separate NAND from its core DRAM and HBM businesses at the capital level, dispersing risk while tapping U.S. market liquidity for technology upgrades. But the 4,484.6 percent debt ratio and export-control constraints on the Dalian fab could suppress the valuation investors accept, leaving the Sept. 4 disclosure as the next signal on whether the deal proceeds.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
