--- title: "SK Hynix killed Solidigm's IPO; US NAND fab has no named funding plan and Dalian's license ends December 31" description: "SK hynix killed the Solidigm Nasdaq float on October 23, six days before its earnings call, leaving the promised US NAND fab without a named funding plan just as Washington holds the Dalian licenses it was meant to buy." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Chips" published: 2026-10-24T19:06:04.391Z modified: 2026-10-24T19:06:04.391Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/sk-hynix-killed-solidigm-s-ipo-us-nand-fab-has-no-named-funding-plan-and-dalian-s-license-ends-december-31 language: en keywords: "NAND, SK hynix, Solidigm, IPO, Export Controls, Memory" --- # SK Hynix killed Solidigm's IPO; US NAND fab has no named funding plan and Dalian's license ends December 31 > SK hynix killed the Solidigm Nasdaq float on October 23, six days before its earnings call, leaving the promised US NAND fab without a named funding plan just as Washington holds the Dalian licenses it was meant to buy. Solidigm, the California NAND and SSD maker [SK hynix](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/sk-hynix) bought from [Intel](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/intel) in 2021, will not reach the Nasdaq [1]. On October 23 the parent ended its review of a roughly 5 trillion won pre-IPO round and the listing itself, citing market conditions and its falling share price, [in a statement filed with the SEC on Form 6-K](https://xenospectrum.com/en/solidigm-us-fab-ipo-halt/) [1]. The float's ceiling had already been cut from up to $150 billion to as much as $100 billion before it died [1]. ## The fab is still a question mark The same statement says existing plants cannot meet demand, so Solidigm needs additional US production capacity. But timing, scale and financing are all still under evaluation: no construction decision has been announced [1]. That nuance was lost in some English coverage, which read "confirmed plans for a new US fab" into wording that only confirms a need [1]. The complication is that the IPO was the named funding plan for that fab, and the money problem did not vanish with it. Chairman Chey Tae-won [has floated issuing more SKHY American depositary receipts](https://theinference.org/article/sk-hynix-s-nasdaq-premium-over-seoul-is-down-to-36-its-chairman-has-floated-more-adr-sales) into a premium that ran 40.42% over the Seoul line on October 9, about 36% a week later, after a July raise of 177.9 million ADRs at $149 [6]. Debt or direct parent investment are the other routes [1]. ## Washington holds the second gate A US NAND fab is also what SK hynix is offering for [2027 licenses to equip its Dalian, China plant](https://asiatimes.com/2026/10/sk-hynix-needs-a-trump-2027-deal-to-expand-its-dalian-nand-fab/), the only source of its 192-layer NAND [7][8]. [The one-year US tool license expires December 31](https://www.techspot.com/news/114224-sk-hynix-reportedly-offers-build-nand-fab-us.html) and no 2027 authorization has been issued [7][8]. Dalian's idle Mod B building could start production as soon as American tools arrive; a US fab would take three to five years [7]. ## What the October 28 call must answer Three questions now land on SK hynix's October 28 earnings call: who funds the fab, whether the Dalian bargain holds, and shareholder returns [5]. [Smartkarma's checklist](https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/sk-hynix-000660-ks-3q26-preview-earnings-intact-stock-down-28-buy-ahead-of-the-result-28-oct) named a Solidigm deferral and a return package above 30 trillion won as its two triggers; the deferral just arrived, the package is pending [5]. The stock, down 28% in October on foreign selling at 4.8x FY27E earnings, closed +4.42% in Seoul on the news [4][5]. Rivals read supply relief. LYNX Equity Strategies argues that killing Solidigm's US expansion funding [removes a NAND pricing overhang three years out](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/micron-sandisk-gain-as-sk-hynix-scraps-solidigm-ipo-lynx-says-4970053), helping [Micron](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/micron) and SanDisk; Micron closed +2.46% Friday, SanDisk -1.82% [3][4]. *Chart: **Seoul cheered the canceled IPO more than the rivals it spared** Bar chart of October 23 closing moves: SK hynix Seoul +4.42%, Micron +2.46%, SanDisk -1.82%, Nasdaq -0.21%.* *One-day closing price changes on Friday October 23, 2026, percent. Sources: Investing.com; CNBC. [3][4]* The market's verdict on who bleeds and who benefits is already split: the parent rallied on a canceled raise, and the rivals it supposedly threatens fell less than it rose. The next reading is December 31, when the Dalian license runs out. ## Takeaway The IPO was the only named way to pay for Solidigm's US fab; it died on October 23, Dalian's license runs out December 31, and the October 28 call must now name the money. ## Sources 1. [XenoSpectrum, SK hynix Drops Solidigm IPO Plan, Says US Production Capacity Still Needed, 24 October 2026](https://xenospectrum.com/en/solidigm-us-fab-ipo-halt/) 3. [KuCoin News, SK Hynix Abandons Solidigm's U.S. IPO; Micron and SanDisk May Benefit, 24 October 2026](https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/sk-hynix-abandons-solidigm-s-u-s-ipo-micron-and-sandisk-may-benefit) 4. [Investing.com, Micron, Sandisk gain as SK Hynix scraps Solidigm IPO, LYNX says, 23 October 2026](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/micron-sandisk-gain-as-sk-hynix-scraps-solidigm-ipo-lynx-says-4970053) 5. [Smartkarma (Mo Aziz), SK Hynix 3Q26 Preview: Earnings Intact, Stock Down 28%; Buy Ahead of the Result (28 Oct), 22 October 2026](https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/sk-hynix-000660-ks-3q26-preview-earnings-intact-stock-down-28-buy-ahead-of-the-result-28-oct) 6. [The Inference, SK hynix's Nasdaq premium over Seoul is down to 36%; its chairman has floated more ADR sales, 16 October 2026](https://theinference.org/article/sk-hynix-s-nasdaq-premium-over-seoul-is-down-to-36-its-chairman-has-floated-more-adr-sales) 7. [Asia Times, SK hynix needs a Trump 2027 deal to expand its Dalian NAND fab, October 2026](https://asiatimes.com/2026/10/sk-hynix-needs-a-trump-2027-deal-to-expand-its-dalian-nand-fab/) 8. [TechSpot, SK hynix reportedly offers to build a NAND fab in the US if Washington lets it expand in China, October 2026](https://www.techspot.com/news/114224-sk-hynix-reportedly-offers-build-nand-fab-us.html) --- SK Hynix killed Solidigm's IPO; US NAND fab has no named funding plan and Dalian's license ends December 31 — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/sk-hynix-killed-solidigm-s-ipo-us-nand-fab-has-no-named-funding-plan-and-dalian-s-license-ends-december-31