A separate Solidigm listing could dilute SK Hynix shareholder value by about 22%, Lee Wan-soo, head of investment adviser Greenery Investment Advisory, said on Korea Economic TV in remarks published Oct. 21.
The prospect raises questions about how shareholders would benefit after supporting the business through losses, Lee said. He said a sustained share-price recovery would depend on a listing decision and the restoration of shareholder trust.
“The biggest issue is shareholder trust,” Lee said, in remarks translated from Korean. He described the proposed listing as a test of how SK Hynix would treat investors who had waited for its acquisitions to produce returns.
SK Hynix acquired Intel's NAND flash business in 2021 and completed its second payment in 2025, Lee said. He said the company holds all of Solidigm through a U.S. subsidiary.
Lee put Solidigm's possible listing valuation at about $150 billion, or roughly 200 trillion won, against an SK Hynix market capitalisation of about 900 trillion won. Those were his figures, rather than a valuation or transaction terms announced by the company in the interview.
He said SK Hynix shares had fallen from about 1.7 million won to 1.2 million won after discussion of the listing emerged. He considered much of the adverse news reflected in that decline, but said that alone would not produce a rapid recovery.
“I think Chairman Chey Tae-won needs to make a decision quickly,” Lee said. He said the response of shareholders and financial regulators would influence whether the company proceeded with a separate listing.
Lee also said investment banks had an incentive to pursue the transaction because of potential fees. His illustrative calculation used a 2% fee on a 200 trillion won listing valuation, producing 4 trillion won in fees.
The discussion did not establish whether SK Hynix had made a final listing decision, set a timetable or determined transaction terms. Neither guest spoke on behalf of the company.
Shinyoung Securities researcher Lee Sang-yeon said SK Hynix's weakness relative to Samsung Electronics began during July's selloff, before the recent Solidigm discussion intensified. He attributed part of the difference to heavier foreign selling and the companies' different exposure to memory products.
SK Hynix depends more heavily on DRAM and high-bandwidth memory, while Samsung benefits more from conventional DRAM, the researcher said. He said uncertainty about HBM pricing had added to questions about the memory earnings cycle.
Higher HBM prices had not flowed through to SK Hynix's earnings as much as investors expected, he said. He expected negotiations through year-end to establish next year's supply prices, leaving those figures unresolved at the time of the interview.
The researcher put SK Hynix's valuation below three times forward earnings and below book value. He said investors could remain cautious until future contract prices became clsearer.
