South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix is preparing for what could become one of the largest equity offerings ever by an Asian company, with plans for a U.S. listing that could raise as much as $26.5 billion as the artificial intelligence boom continues to reshape the semiconductor industry.
According to a Bloomberg report, SK Hynix is considering paying banks underwriting the transaction a base fee of about 0.5% of the proceeds, well below the fees typically charged for major U.S. public offerings. Even at that level, the syndicate could collectively earn more than $130 million if the offering reaches its expected size, making it one of the most lucrative equity capital markets mandates involving an Asian company this year.
The company has indicated it could sell up to 2.5% of its outstanding shares, although the final size of the offering has yet to be determined. Sources familiar with the matter said underwriters may also receive discretionary incentive payments in addition to the base fee, depending on the success of the transaction.
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Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase are leading the planned share sale. SK Hynix declined to comment on the reported fee structure.
The proposed U.S. listing comes as SK Hynix has emerged as one of the biggest winners of the global AI infrastructure boom. The company is the world’s leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the advanced memory technology that has become indispensable for training and running large artificial intelligence models.
Its close relationship with Nvidia has positioned the company at the center of the AI supply chain, with HBM serving as a critical component inside Nvidia’s AI accelerators that power data centers operated by hyperscalers including Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Meta.
The explosive demand for AI computing has transformed the global memory industry after years of cyclical weakness. Memory chip prices have surged as production struggles to keep pace with demand, allowing leading manufacturers to generate record earnings while expanding production capacity.
Industry analysts expect tight supply conditions to persist through at least 2027 as AI data center construction accelerates worldwide. High-bandwidth memory has become one of the industry’s most constrained components because of its complex manufacturing process and limited global production capacity.
Those favorable market dynamics have propelled SK Hynix’s market value to roughly $1.1 trillion, placing it among the world’s most valuable semiconductor companies. Its shares have rallied sharply over the past year as investors increasingly view advanced memory producers as essential beneficiaries of the AI investment cycle.
The listing would also provide the company with greater access to U.S. capital markets at a time when semiconductor companies are investing heavily to expand manufacturing capacity. Memory makers are committing tens of billions of dollars to new fabrication plants and advanced packaging facilities to meet rising demand for AI chips.
While investor enthusiasm for AI has recently moderated amid questions about whether hyperscalers can sustain their massive spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure, demand for advanced memory remains robust. The largest cloud computing providers continue to announce multibillion-dollar investments in AI data centers, supporting expectations that memory suppliers will remain among the biggest beneficiaries of the industry’s expansion.
Semiconductor companies are seeking additional financial flexibility as competition intensifies. Global chipmakers are racing to expand production while investing in next-generation technologies, particularly advanced memory products required for increasingly sophisticated AI systems.
Although SK Hynix’s stock has experienced periods of volatility as investors assess the durability of AI-related capital spending, the company’s dominant position in the HBM market and its strategic partnership with Nvidia continue to underpin confidence in its long-term growth prospects.
The transaction, at completion, is expected to rank among the largest global equity offerings in recent years and underscore investor appetite for companies supplying the infrastructure powering the AI revolution. It would also bolster the growing importance of memory manufacturers within the semiconductor industry, where advanced memory has become as strategically important as AI processors themselves.