The next test of the AI trade arrives today, as South Korean memory-chip maker SK Hynix's American depositary receipts begin trading under the temporary ticker SKHYV.
Shares were priced at about a 3% premium to Thursday's close of its ordinary shares in South Korea. The $26.5 billion offering attracted demand for roughly seven times the shares available, forcing the chipmaker to scale back allocations to major investors, according to Bloomberg.
The company sold 177.9 million ADRs at $149 each, raising $26.5 billion, surpassing Alibaba's US debut to become the third-largest listing in history. Each ADR represents one-tenth of a Seoul-listed common share, giving US investors direct exposure to the world's leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory amid the AI boom that could soon unlock the Physical AI boom.
According to the report, Baillie Gifford, Coatue Management, and Situational Awareness Partners received about $5 billion of ADRs, roughly $2 billion less than indicated. Over 500 institutional investors placed orders, including long-only funds, technology specialists, and sovereign wealth funds. The allocation remained concentrated, with 10 investors taking half the deal and the top 25 accounting for about two-thirds.
Wall Street analysts weighed in with their first takes of the deal, courtesy of Bloomberg:
Jung In Yun, CEO at Fibonacci Asset Management
- "I take 3% premium as a constructive signal. It shows that glob
