Solidigm Halts IPO Review That Could Raise $15 Billion at Valuation of Up to $150 Billion
Key Facts
Solidigm has halted its review of pre-IPO financing options and an initial public offering after SK hynix assessed capital market conditions and share-price trends. The company said the decision “does not reflect any change in Solidigm’s growth prospects or investment needs.” Hynix had been considering a direct investment in the unit or raising external capital through a public offering. The options were intended to fund new production facilities in the United States to meet demand for AI memory. The review’s suspension leaves the funding path for this expansion under consideration, while the company said expanding production capacity would remain a priority.
Before the suspension decision, Reuters reported on September 25, citing 3 people familiar with the matter, that a potential offering could value Solidigm at up to $150 billion and raise $15 billion. The agency said the plans, size and timing were preliminary and subject to change depending on market conditions. This provides context for the sensitivity of the offering review to capital market movements that Hynix cited in its statement. The company had said the review aimed to finance Solidigm’s growth and enhance the economic value of existing Hynix shareholders’ stakes. It added that external financing could have increased the group’s consolidated cash available for investment and shareholder returns, including dividends, share buybacks and cancellations.
Hynix said Solidigm’s existing facilities have limited capacity to keep pace with rising demand, making increased production and stronger competitiveness an ongoing priority. The need for additional capacity comes as the company said expanding investment in AI infrastructure had supported higher prices. Hynix began commercial HBM4 shipments in the second quarter of 2026 and said it intends to increase production in the second half of the year. It also reported growing requests for additional supply as major technology companies raise spending on AI infrastructure. The company said it had signed long-term supply agreements with about 10 customers.
The review’s suspension comes as the parent company has a strong cash position, according to its second-quarter 2026 results. Cash and cash equivalents totaled 88 trillion won at the end of June, against total debt of 18.6 trillion won, bringing its net cash position to 69.4 trillion won. Hynix reported revenue of 79.3187 trillion won and operating profit of 60.5426 trillion won for the quarter. Revenue rose 257% year over year, compared with 22.232 trillion won in the second quarter of 2025. Operating profit also increased 557% from 9.2129 trillion won in the corresponding period.
Hynix had responded in a statement issued on October 1 to concerns raised by media reports that steps related to Solidigm could amount to a dual listing that would dilute the value of existing shareholders’ investments. The company said it evaluates options based on their economic impact on those shareholders. As background on the unit, Solidigm was established after Hynix acquired Intel’s NAND memory and SSD businesses in a deal valued at about $9 billion, according to Reuters. Solidigm and CoreWeave also signed a multi-year strategic agreement on August 5 giving CoreWeave priority access to enterprise storage capacity for its AI cloud platform. CoreWeave said storage had become a critical constraint in capacity planning as AI adoption accelerates and supplies tighten.
Hynix announced that its third-quarter results statement will be released before 9:00 a.m. Seoul time on October 28, 2026, followed by an investor call at 9:00. The upcoming quarterly results are expected to provide an opportunity to track what the company says about Solidigm’s investment needs and funding sources for growth after halting its review of offering options. In the stock market, EL7 data showed Hynix shares closing at 131.69 on October 22, after closing at 143.25 on the previous day. Both closes were recorded in the two days before the scheduled announcement of the third-quarter results date. The company did not provide a specific financing alternative as part of its decision to halt the review.