[News] Kioxia Reportedly Weighs $10B U.S. Listing in 2027; Toshiba Cuts Stake to 12.84%

Kioxia is putting more concrete plans behind its U.S. market push. According to Bloomberg, the Japanese memory giant is weighing an ADR offering that could raise at least $10 billion. The move follows longtime NAND rival SK hynix, which raised $26.5 billion through a U.S. ADR offering in July—the largest-ever new share sale by a foreign company, SeDaily notes.

Kioxia has reportedly held talks with Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase over a potential offering as early as next year. The company  first confirmed preparations for a U.S. ADR listing in May, Reuters reports, while Blocks & Files suggests it is targeting a Nasdaq debut between April and June 2027.

Bloomberg notes that the move would give Kioxia greater access to U.S. capital and boost the liquidity of its shares, following billions of dollars in share buybacks in Japan. Meanwhile, Blocks & Files adds that Kioxia is also weighing a stock split in Japan after its shares surged roughly 900% since the start of 2026.

Market Risks Loom

However, the market backdrop has turned less favorable. Kioxia shares have tumbled more than 54% from their peak in just over two months, reversing part of an eightfold surge in the first half that helped propel the Nikkei higher, SeDaily notes.

The sharp pullback comes as concerns mount over slowing AI infrastructure spending by hyperscalers and potential memory price pressure from aggressive industry-wide capacity expansion. Adding to the uncertainty, leading AI companies including Anthropic, OpenAI and xAI last week warned of mounting AI risks and called for a more measured pace of development, the report explains.

SK hynix Ties Back in Focus

Kioxia’s push for a U.S. listing has revived scrutiny of its relationship with SK hynix. BCPE Pangea Cayman2, an SK hynix-linked investment vehicle, overtook Toshiba as Kioxia’s largest shareholder in August with a 14.19% stake, after Toshiba’s holding slipped to 14.06%, ZDNet reported. Toshiba has kept selling since—Nikkei put its stake at 12.84% as of Sept. 7, following further open-market sales on Sept. 14.

That growing financial tie has fueled speculation about deeper cooperation. In early September, SK Chair Chey Tae-won has floated closer ties between the two firms, including a possible manufacturing partnership, but Kioxia CEO Ota quickly ruled that out.

According to Hankyung, Ota cited Kioxia’s existing joint production with SanDisk as the obstacle; KBS adds that the SanDisk venture already accounts for 80% of Kioxia’s capacity, with third-party manufacturing barred through 2034. Analysts cited by KBS also brings up another concern, suggesting SK hynix’s convertible-bond stake already raises questions about Kioxia’s management independence, and any shared production would only deepen that influence.

Read more

• [News] Kioxia Denies SK hynix Joint Production Talks, Seeks NAND Price Stability to Sustain AI Investment
• [News] Apple Said to Have Signed NAND LTA with Kioxia Seen as Likely Partner; Foldable iPhone Memory Suppliers in Focus

(Photo credit: Kioxia)