SK Hynix says Solidigm drops plan for US IPO amid market volatility

SEOUL, Oct 23 — South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix said on Friday that ​it decided against a US initial public offering for its Solidigm subsidiary, citing financial market volatility and recent ‌share price trends.

SK Hynix said in a statement it would continue to explore ⁠ways to fund Solidigm's expansion ​and enhance shareholder value, including ⁠reviewing the timing, scale and financing of future investments.

"This ‌decision does not reflect ‌any change in Solidigm's growth prospects or investment needs," ⁠the company said.

Despite strong business ⁠performance at both SK Hynix and Solidigm, the company said increased market volatility and a broader correction in semiconductor stocks had prompted it to reconsider the listing.

The decision comes just weeks after SK Hynix said it was reviewing ‌various options to strengthen Solidigm's competitiveness, ​but that no decisions had been made.

Solidigm, based in Rancho Cordova, California, is SK Hynix's US subsidiary specialising in NAND flash memory and solid-state drives.

SK Hynix had considered an IPO as one of several ways to finance Solidigm's expansion amid growing demand for memory chips driven by artificial ​intelligence.

The company said raising external capital through a listing could have ‌boosted its consolidated ‌cash ⁠flow, helping fund new production facilities while supporting shareholder returns through dividends, share buybacks and share cancellations.

In addition, SK Hynix said an IPO could have helped investors better recognise Solidigm's growth ‌potential, which it said ​was not fully reflected in ‌the parent company's valuation.

(Reporting ⁠by Heekyong ​Yang, Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Editing by Chris Reese and ​Cynthia Osterman)

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