SK Hynix Raises $26.5 Billion in Largest-Ever US Listing by a Foreign Company

South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix has completed the largest US listing ever by a foreign company, raising roughly $26.5 billion through an American depositary receipt offering. The company sold 177.9 million ADRs at $149 each, with each receipt representing a tenth of a Seoul-listed common share, and began trading on Nasdaq on 10 July. The deal surpassed Alibaba's $25 billion 2014 New York listing and ranks as the second-largest share sale in US history. Shares climbed about 13% on the first day, closing near $168 after opening at $170, with demand reportedly more than seven times the shares available. SK Hynix is the dominant supplier of high-bandwidth memory used alongside advanced AI processors, and its shares in Seoul have surged sharply this year amid a global data-centre buildout. The company said proceeds will fund new production capacity, including a first fab at the Yongin cluster in South Korea, expanded advanced packaging in Cheongju and an AI memory packaging plant in Indiana. Analysts caution that memory has historically been a cyclical business and that heavy capacity investment by SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron could eventually tip the market into oversupply. Record levels of retail margin borrowing in Korea's market have also drawn scrutiny.