Kioxia Holdings is considering raising at least $10 billion through a US depositary receipt (ADR) listing. The company is in discussions with investment banks and is expected to list around spring 2027, according to people familiar with the matter.
Kioxia Holdings is considering a fundraising ahead of an ADR listing, according to interviews with multiple people familiar with the matter. The company intends to proceed with the fundraising and aims to secure liquidity in the US market in preparation for the listing.
The company is currently in discussions with investment banks including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase. Details such as the size of the listing and the lead underwriters have not been decided. There had been no announcement as of September, and the plans may change going forward.
At its annual general meeting in June, Kioxia Holdings disclosed that it was considering an ADR listing around April-June 2027, having announced preparations in May. The company also conducted a ¥800 billion share buyback in August, reportedly with the aim of expanding liquidity in the US market.
Amid global trends in semiconductor and AI-related stocks, the possibility of inclusion in major US market indices is also being considered. South Korea's SK hynix listed ADRs in July and reportedly raised one of the largest amounts ever for an IPO by a foreign company.
Share prices of semiconductor and AI-related companies performed strongly in the first half of this year, but as the market has remained in a correction phase since peaking in June, some have argued that the pace of AI development should be moderated. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, has pointed to the risks of AI and suggested that the pace of model development needs to be slowed.