SOLIDIGM EYES $150B IPO SK Hynix is considering taking its U.S. storage subsidiary Solidigm public as early as 2027 in an IPO that could raise about $15B and value the company at up to $150B, per Reuters. Solidigm was created after SK Hynix acquired Intel’s NAND memory and SSD business for roughly $9B and combined those operations into a standalone U.S. subsidiary. The company sells enterprise SSDs used in servers, cloud infrastructure and AI data centers, with a growing focus on high-capacity storage for AI workloads. Solidigm has already begun meeting with investment banks for potential IPO roles, marking an early step toward a listing that could become the largest-ever U.S. semiconductor IPO. SK Hynix has also been exploring ways to expand Solidigm, including a possible U.S. NAND manufacturing plant, with upstate New York reportedly under consideration. Source: Reuters

- Solidigm planning first US-based NAND manufacturing facility, marking geographic diversification from current operations - Move signals capacity expansion and potential supply chain resilience strategy in competitive memory market > A US fab establishment would represent Solidigm's capital-intensive commitment to North American market presence and geopolitical supply chain diversification. > This aligns with industry-wide trends of reshoring semiconductor manufacturing but requires significant capex that will impact near-term profitability.

$SKHY Solidigm's US NAND fab now has a price tag of about $45B. Four days before that was reported, SK hynix dropped the Solidigm IPO that was meant to help pay for it. Bloomberg reported on Oct 27 that Solidigm told US officials the total could eventually approach $100B. New York is among the sites, and construction could start in 2027. Neither company has made a final decision. The IPO could have raised about $10B. On the Oct 28 call, CEO Kwak Noh-Jung said it was meant "to lighten our own investment burden." Without it, the obvious source is SK hynix's own balance sheet. It held ₩98.7T of net cash at the end of September, about $74B at today's rate. The other source is Dalian. Solidigm is asking to ship more US tools to its NAND fab there and says the extra sales would help pay for the US plant. BIS said in 2025 that it doesn't intend to license capacity expansion or technology upgrades at fabs in China, and Dalian's current one-year licence runs out on Dec 31. That makes the US fab and the Dalian licence one negotiation. Last year's licence came through on Dec 30. This year's will show how much of the $45B Dalian gets to fund.

Bloomberg: Solidigm may IPO in 2027, raising ~$10B at up to $100B valuation. Nothing finalized. An enterprise-SSD valuation anchor for $SNDK $MU $WDC or competition for capital. Latest reports cite $100B vs $150B earlier. $GS, $MS, $JPM, $C, $UBS : fees on what could be a record tech IPO.

SK HYNIX SCRAPS SOLIDIGM U.S. IPO AMID CAPITAL MARKET VOLATILITY & DUPLICATE-LISTING CONCERNS The company also halted a planned pre-IPO funding round, per Bloomberg. South Korean regulators had raised concerns that separately listing its flash-memory subsidiary could undermine existing shareholder value. The proposal also faced strong shareholder opposition. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley had reportedly been selected to lead the potential offering. SK hynix says Solidigm will explore alternative financing options to expand production capacity.

SK HYNIX SAYS A SOLIDIGM IPO REVIEW HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED IN LIGHT OF MARKET CONDITIONS AND SHARE PRICE TRENDS, ADDING THAT THE NEED TO INVEST IN SOLIDIGM’S GROWTH REMAINS UNCHANGED AND THAT ALTERNATIVES TO ENHANCE SHAREHOLDER VALUE WILL CONTINUE TO BE EXPLORED