SK hynix US unit considering IPO at $150B valuation: report

SK Hynix's US subsidiary Solidigm is contemplating an initial public offering (IPO) that could potentially value the company at up to $150 billion, according to sources. This IPO could mark the largest US semiconductor listing to date. Solidigm, which is based in California, is an enterprise SSD subsidiary of South Korea's SK Hynix Inc. The company recently held pitch meetings with investment banks for the IPO, referred to as a "bake-off."

These talks could lead to the company raising up to $15 billion in the IPO, though specifics are still preliminary. The IPO would serve as a standalone valuation for Solidigm, which has become crucial to SK Hynix's storage portfolio. The move would also capitalize on investor interest in artificial intelligence infrastructure, which has boosted semiconductor and hardware stocks.

Solidigm, established in 2021 after SK Hynix acquired Intel's NAND memory and SSD business for around $9 billion, supplies enterprise SSDs for servers, cloud infrastructure, and data centers. The company differentiates itself through high-capacity storage products tailored for AI applications. There are also plans to build a NAND flash memory chip factory in the US, with upstate New York being a potential site.