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Kioxia |
[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Sangjin] Kioxia, the world's third-largest NAND flash manufacturer (formerly Toshiba Memory), is set to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on December 18. According to the Nikkei newspaper on the 10th, Kioxia has decided on an IPO price of ¥1,455 per share, with an expected market capitalization of ¥780 billion. Originally, Kioxia had targeted a market cap of ¥1.5 trillion for its IPO in October but postponed the listing due to a downturn in semiconductor stocks. Despite the lowered market cap, the company decided to proceed with the listing before January, anticipating potential geopolitical risks following U.S. President Donald Trump's inauguration.
After going public, Kioxia plans to use the funds raised to increase production of advanced NAND flash for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. A new facility at the Kitakami plant in Iwate Prefecture is expected to begin operations in September 2025. With the expansion of AI data centers, Kioxia aims to close the gap with the market leaders, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. According to the UK-based market research firm Omdia, the NAND flash market is projected to grow by 50% in 2025, reaching a total value of $91.1 billion, compared to this year. Kioxia's expansion could pose a challenge to Samsung and SK hynix, potentially disrupting their market positions.
Kioxia was formed in 2017 when Toshiba's memory division became independent due to the company's financial difficulties. The business was backed by a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital, which owns 56%, while Toshiba retains a 41% stake. SK hynix invested around 4 trillion won in the consortium. With Kioxia's upcoming IPO, SK hynix is likely to recover its investment, and there are speculations that it may sell its shares in Kioxia to invest in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) technology.
AlphaBIZ Kim SangJin(letyou@alphabiz.co.kr)
