SEOUL, March 24 (Reuters) - South Korea's SK Hynix is considering raising 10 trillion to 15 trillion won ($10.03 billion) through a potential U.S. listing, aiming to expand production capacity for advanced memory chips, the Korea Economic Daily reported.
A U.S. listing would give the Nvidia supplier access to a wider pool of capital and could help narrow a gap in its valuation compared with global peers such as Micron, the newspaper said.
Here are some details:
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SK Hynix plans to issue new shares to support a listing of American depositary receipts (ADRs), with funds likely to be used to build artificial intelligence infrastructure and expand capacity for memory products, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed industry sources.
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The chipmaker, in a statement to Reuters, said that the company is reviewing various measures to enhance shareholder value, including an ADR listing, but added that nothing has been finalised.
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SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won last week said SK Hynix is reviewing a potential U.S. ADR listing to broaden its global investor base beyond Korea and increase exposure to global investors.
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In January, SK Hynix said it would cancel about 12.2 trillion won worth of treasury shares, equivalent to 2.1% of total shares outstanding, in a move aimed to boost shareholder value.
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SK Hynix ranks No.1 in the high-bandwidth memory chip market, used in AI, with a 57% share. It also holds a 32% share of the global DRAM market, used in AI chipsets and electronic devices, making it the second-largest player after cross-town rival Samsung Electronics, according to Counterpoint.
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Shares of SK Hynix closed up 5.7%, compared with a 2.7% rise in the benchmark KOSPI.
($1 = 1,495.0000 won)
Reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair
Source: Reuters