Solidigm, SK hynix's Grandchild Company, Reportedly Considering an IPO as Early as Next Year

[Financial News] A report said that Solidigm, SK hynix's grandchild company, may pursue an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States as early as next year.
According to foreign media reports on the 26th, Solidigm invited investment banks this week to present IPO-related proposals at a so-called "bake-off" meeting. 
Solidigm is a U.S. entity established in 2021 after SK hynix acquired Intel's NAND and solid-state drive (SSD) businesses. Earlier this year, it became a subsidiary of AI Company, an investment subsidiary that SK hynix established in the United States. SK hynix renamed its existing Solidigm subsidiary AI Company, assigning it the role of control tower for investments in AI semiconductors and data centers. It also established a new Solidigm under AI Company as a grandchild company. The structure is SK (holding company) → SK Square → SK hynix → AI Company (100%-owned subsidiary) → Solidigm (100%-owned grandchild company). 
Industry sources estimate Solidigm's value at up to $150 billion (approximately 204 trillion won) and believe it could raise about $15 billion (20.4 trillion won) through an IPO. Arm Holdings, which went public in 2023, was previously valued at $54 billion.
The newly established Solidigm currently supplies enterprise SSDs used in servers, cloud infrastructure and data centers. As demand for NAND flash products has grown amid the recent artificial intelligence (AI) boom, the company is considering building a NAND flash production hub in New York State. Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, believes production must be expanded rapidly to meet semiconductor demand. Securing large-scale investment funds is necessary to do so.
However, concerns about a dual listing, particularly in South Korea's stock market, could emerge. Those concerned about a dual listing argue that if Solidigm goes public, some investment funds from foreign investors and others in SK hynix could shift to Solidigm, weakening SK hynix's control over the company. 
Meanwhile, SK Group has not issued an official response on whether Solidigm will go public. 

[email protected] Eun-hyo Jo Reporter