SK Hynix drops 5%; Solidigm's potential US IPO raises concerns over equity structure

SK Hynix shares fell on the Korea Exchange on Monday after reports surfaced that its U.S. subsidiary Solidigm may pursue a U.S. listing, raising market concerns about SK Group's complex ownership structure. Over the weekend, U.S. media cited informed sources saying that Solidigm is considering an IPO in the United States as early as next year, with the data storage product manufacturer’s valuation possibly reaching as high as 100 billion USD. Following this news, SK Hynix shares dropped as much as 5% during Monday’s Asian session, marking the largest decline in two weeks. SK Square, the largest shareholder of SK Hynix, saw its shares fall more than 8%, while SK Inc., which controls SK Square, also experienced a decline of over 6%. The Korea Corporate Governance Forum stated that a Solidigm listing would further increase the multiple-layered shareholding relationships within SK Group, deepening its pyramid-style ownership structure. The forum had urged SK Hynix to abandon the plan back in August.