SK hynix Effectively Becomes the Second-Largest Shareholder of Rival Japanese Firm Kioxia

SK hynix has risen to become the second-largest shareholder of Japanese semiconductor company Kioxia. This change comes after Bain Capital, previously Kioxia’s largest shareholder, sold a substantial portion of its shares.

SK hynix. Yonhap News Agency

According to Japanese news outlet Nikkei on July 26, Bain Capital reported through recent large-shareholding disclosures that it sold off most of its Kioxia shares last month, earning a profit of approximately 2.5 trillion yen (about 22 trillion won). As a result, Toshiba, which holds a 15% stake in Kioxia, has become the largest shareholder, while SK hynix, holding a 14% stake via a special purpose company (SPC), has become the second-largest shareholder. However, SK hynix is not a shareholder with actual voting rights, as it has not yet converted its convertible bonds (CB) into shares.

Following Bain Capital’s sale, Toshiba is also pursuing the sale of its Kioxia stake, raising the possibility that SK hynix could effectively become the largest shareholder in the future. Toshiba has been gradually reducing its stake since the first half of this year, with its holdings dropping from more than 40% to 18.5% as of March last year, and recently to about 15.1%. However, for SK hynix to gain voting rights, it must obtain approval under various countries’ competition and antitrust laws. Previously, SK stated it would not hold more than 15% of Kioxia’s voting rights until 2028.

Kioxia is a direct competitor with SK hynix in the NAND flash memory market. For this reason, the Japanese government is also closely monitoring the shareholding structure of the two companies. SK hynix holds approximately 20% of the NAND market, ranking second after Samsung Electronics. In a recent report, Kioxia noted, “While SK hynix has not yet converted its bonds into shares, it may already have initiated necessary procedures under antitrust, forex, and foreign transaction laws in various countries.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.