SEOUL, June 24 (AJP) -SK hynix is launching a roughly $33 billion public offering tied to a Nasdaq listing of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), a move that could globalize its shareholder base and intensify its competition with home rival Samsung Electronics beyond memory chips and into the battle for global capital.
In a regulatory filing after the Seoul market closed Wednesday, the company said its board approved a plan to list ADRs on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, with subscription and payment scheduled for July 10 and July 14, respectively.
The offering is estimated at 45.45 trillion won ($32.8 billion), based on a maximum issuance of 17.79 million new common shares and Tuesday's closing price of 2.555 million won per share.
The conversion ratio is set at one ADR for every 0.1 common share. The final offering price and aggregate deal size will be determined through a global bookbuilding process with institutional investors.
SK hynix shares rose 4 percent in after-hours trading after closing Wednesday at 2.58 million won. Samsung Electronics also climbed 9.19 percent after ending the regular session 9.84 percent higher at 349,500 won.
The chipmaker said all proceeds raised in the U.S. capital market will be allocated to facilities and infrastructure expansion.
The move comes as the longtime No. 2 player in DRAM has overtaken Samsung Electronics in market value at home earlier this week, propelled by its dominance in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips that power nearly all AI accelerators produced by Nvidia and other major chip designers.
The stock-friendly announcement follows Samsung Electronics' unveiling of a $65 billion buyback program on Wednesday to bolster shareholder returns and support employee compensation that helped to reclaim its No. 1 rank on the KOSPI the chipmaker surrendered for two earlier days to SK hynix.
Currently, many overseas investors gain exposure to the company through Korea-focused funds such as the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF, which face concentration limits on individual holdings.
A Nasdaq presence would allow SK hynix to be purchased directly by a far broader universe of investors, including semiconductor exchange-traded funds, AI-focused portfolios and global growth funds that currently have limited access to Korean equities.
Analysts have also raised the possibility of eventual inclusion in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, one of the world's most closely watched semiconductor benchmarks.
If HBM established SK hynix's AI credentials, an ADR listing could globalize its shareholder base.
The company would no longer compete merely as a Korean stock, but increasingly alongside global semiconductor leaders for international capital.
Launched in 1993, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tracks the 30 largest U.S.-listed semiconductor companies. Once anchored by industrial giants such as Intel and Texas Instruments, the AI era has reshaped its composition. Today, heavyweight constituents include Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and ASML.
SK hynix said the fresh capital will finance construction of the first fabrication plant at the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, as well as building, equipment and related expenses for the P&T7 advanced packaging fab in Cheongju.
Part of the proceeds will also be used to procure extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment and related manufacturing infrastructure, key to next-generation semiconductor production.
The joint bookrunners for the international offering are BofA Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Securities.
Citibank will serve as the depositary bank, while the Korea Securities Depository will act as custodian for the underlying local shares.
The move formalizes a series of regulatory clarification filings that have been tracked since late 2025 regarding the chipmaker's potential U.S. listing.
Company officials said the disclosed dates and financial figures remain tentative and could change depending on the outcome of the upcoming global bookbuilding process.
The new fundraising scheme arrives as HBM race intensifies on home turf.
Samsung Electronics earlier this week announced it has shipped roughly $1 billion worth of sixth-generation HBM4 chips over the past four months since mass production began in February. SK hynix has also said it has shipped out HBM4 to its clients.
SK hynix currently commands roughly 50 to 55 percent of the HBM market, while Samsung Electronics holds around 35 to 40 percent.
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