Shares of South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix's were down as much as 3% in Seoul on Friday morning after the company halted a review of a potential U.S. initial public offering for its subsidiary Solidigm.
"Solidigm will halt its review of potential pre-IPO and IPO options," the company said in the statement after assessing recent capital market conditions and share price trends, while also exploring various funding options to finance a new U.S. semiconductor fabrication plant amid growing demand for AI memory.
The chip manufacturer said an IPO could have helped fund Solidigm's expansion while providing greater financial flexibility for shareholder returns, including dividends, share buybacks and share cancellations.
However, financial market volatility had increased and contributed to a broader correction in semiconductor stocks, prompting SK Hynix to reassess whether an IPO would benefit existing shareholders.
The company also said that Solidigm's existing production facilities had limited capacity to meet rising AI-driven memory demand, underscoring the need for additional manufacturing capacity in the U.S.