South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix plans to raise up to 45.45 trillion won ($29.4 billion) through the listing of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on the Nasdaq stock exchange, with the aim of expanding its investor base and production capacity for chips used in artificial intelligence.
The amount may change following the book-building process, according to a company filing submitted to the regulatory authorities. Ten ADRs are equivalent to one ordinary share.
The world’s second-largest memory chip manufacturer plans to issue 17.79 million new shares to facilitate the ADR placement on the Nasdaq market on 10 July.
The proceeds from the placement will be used to build a chip manufacturing plant in Yeongin, expand the facility in Cheongju and purchase chip manufacturing equipment.
The placement is being organised by BofA Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Securities.
SK Hynix’s ADR placement could become the largest in history, surpassing Alibaba’s $21.8 billion listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014.
SK Hynix’s share price rose by 1% at the close of trading on Wednesday. Since the start of this year, the company’s market capitalisation has quadrupled.