SK Hynix float set to be huge money-spinner for Wall Street

By the Editorial Team · Friday, July 10, 2026

South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix launched a secondary listing on the Nasdaq aiming to raise about $28 billion, potentially making it one of the largest recent public offerings. The deal is expected to generate significant underwriting fees for banks involved and underscores growing investor interest driven by demand for memory chips in AI data centers.

SK Hynix’s debut on the Nasdaq is set to be one of the largest public offerings in recent years, potentially generating substantial fees for the banks involved. The South Korean chipmaker, whose market value recently surpassed $1 trillion, began trading in New York as part of a secondary listing expected to raise approximately $28 billion.

The offering, led by major investment banks including Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan, could yield underwriting fees exceeding $140 million. This figure combines a base fee of roughly 0.5 percent of the funds raised with a discretionary incentive fee from SK Hynix. The relatively modest underwriting fee rate reflects both the company’s status as an established Korea Stock Exchange-listed firm and the absence of a greenshoe option that would allow underwriters to sell additional shares to stabilize the price.

If SK Hynix meets its $28 billion fundraising target, it would rank among the largest initial public offerings globally, similar in scale to Saudi Aramco’s $29 billion IPO in 2019. However, the final amount may fall slightly short, as SK Hynix’s share price experienced minor declines following the prospectus release. The company remains firmly in the trillion-dollar valuation bracket, bolstered by strong demand for memory chips driven by growth in AI data centers.

In addition to the lead underwriters, several other banks, including Cantor Fitzgerald, Mizuho, and Stifel, have joined the transaction in more junior capacities. The fee pool for SK Hynix’s Nasdaq listing is expected to become one of the more lucrative for Wall Street from an Asian issuer, placing it alongside Alibaba’s $25 billion IPO in 2014, which generated around $300 million in fees. By comparison, SpaceX’s Nasdaq listing last month stands as the largest, raising $85.6 billion with underwriting fees exceeding $500 million.

Citi holds a further role in the offering as the depositary bank managing SK Hynix’s American Depositary Shares (ADS). In this capacity, Citi will earn ongoing revenues from the conversion process between ADS and shares listed on the Seoul exchange, as well as from distributing dividends to ADS holders.

Several cornerstone investors, including Leopold Aschenbrenner’s Situational Awareness and Baillie Gifford, have committed to purchasing approximately $7 billion of the shares offered. Both SK Hynix and the lead underwriters declined to comment on the details of the fee arrangements or the offering progress.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.