SK Hynix has halted its review of a potential U.S. IPO and pre-IPO fundraising for Solidigm, its U.S. subsidiary, CNBC reports. Bloomberg reports that the company also halted discussions about pre-IPO investment, citing a Friday regulatory filing. Solidigm specializes in NAND flash memory and solid-state drives, according to The Business Times.
“Solidigm will halt its review of potential pre-IPO and IPO options,” SK Hynix said in a statement quoted by CNBC. The company cited recent capital market conditions and share-price trends. The Business Times quotes SK Hynix as saying Solidigm needed to reassess whether an IPO would be the best option for SK Hynix and its existing shareholders at this time. The outlet reports that SK Hynix had considered a listing as one way to finance Solidigm’s expansion.
The decision follows scrutiny in South Korea. CNBC, citing Reuters, reports that the country’s financial regulator said a potential U.S. listing could violate rules restricting dual listings. CNBC says Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin described an examination of whether the IPO would require review under rules intended to protect minority shareholders. That is scrutiny of a potential listing, not a definitive ruling that it violated the rules.
SK Hynix says Solidigm’s investment needs remain unchanged and that it will explore alternative financing. As for the parent company’s shares, CNBC reports they fell as much as 3% in Seoul on Friday before reversing course; CNBC said they were last trading 0.4% higher.
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