Solidigm Picks Goldman, Morgan for US IPO, Valuation Could Reach $100 Billion

Bloomberg: Lead Underwriters Chosen

SK Hynix: Nothing Has Been Finalized

Solidigm, the U.S. NAND flash company owned by SK Hynix, has selected lead underwriters for a U.S. stock market listing. If it goes public next year, its market capitalization could reach as much as $100 billion. ▶ See also: Aug. 6, Page A13

Bloomberg reported on Oct. 7, citing people familiar with the matter, that Solidigm had chosen Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as lead underwriters for its U.S. initial public offering. The IPO could raise about $10 billion.

Solidigm was formed after SK Hynix acquired Intel’s NAND flash business in 2021. The company is headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California. It operates 13 sites worldwide, including in Mexico, Canada and China, and has more than 2,000 employees.

The company has recently focused on supplying solid-state drives, or SSDs, used in artificial intelligence data centers. In August, Solidigm signed a deal to supply enterprise SSDs to CoreWeave, a U.S. AI cloud company. Dell Technologies and Tencent Holdings are also among its major customers. A semiconductor industry official said high-capacity SSDs made with NAND flash have emerged as Solidigm’s core business. The IPO could also provide an opportunity for the company’s value to be reassessed as its business structure changes.

The timing of the listing could still be delayed depending on conditions in the U.S. IPO market. Some companies, including smart ring maker Oura, have recently postponed listings after finding it difficult to raise the amount they wanted. SK Hynix said on Oct. 8 that it is reviewing various options to strengthen Solidigm’s competitiveness, but nothing has been finalized.

Hwang Jeong-su, New York correspondent, Korea Economic Daily, hjs@hankyung.com