SK hynix Halts Solidigm Listing Review to Finance U.S. Plant Build

SK hynix has stopped its review of both a Solidigm IPO and a pre-IPO funding round, saying stock market volatility and a correction in semiconductor shares make a listing unattractive. The company announced the decision early on Friday, October 23. It also confirmed plans to build a new Solidigm fab in the United States to serve enterprise SSD demand, though it has not disclosed the plant's size, cost, or construction timetable.

The company had weighed direct investment, a pre-IPO funding round, and a full listing of Solidigm as ways to pay for the expansion. An offering would have brought in outside capital without adding debt and could have produced proceeds for dividends, buybacks, and share cancellations. SK hynix said current conditions would not allow Solidigm to earn a valuation reflecting its growth outlook, so it ended both the funding round and listing review. It continues to examine other ways to finance the project.

Solidigm builds high-capacity data center SSDs on floating gate 3D QLC NAND memory. Its present manufacturing capacity barely covers expected requirements as AI infrastructure rollouts raise demand for storage. SK hynix holds 21.1% of the enterprise SSD market together with Solidigm. Micron's enterprise storage division recently reported a non-GAAP gross margin of 90%.

The decision leaves SK hynix to fund a modern 3D NAND fab, which the source notes can cost tens of billions of dollars, through internal cash and debt. Paying the full cost from cash alone would be possible but less likely given the capital demands of advanced chip plants. The company has not announced a financing plan for the facility.

SK hynix has not said where the new plant would be located or when construction could begin. No other details about the project have been released.