Sept 14 (Reuters) – Japanese chipmaker Kioxia Holdings is considering raising at least $10 billion by listing American depositary receipts, or ADRs, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Kioxia has been speaking with lenders, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan , on an offering that may take place next year, the report said.
The Tokyo-based company is seeking to increase liquidity in the U.S. through the listing after repurchasing billions of dollars worth of shares in Japan, the report added.
Selling ADRs could also allow Kioxia to join a semiconductor-focused stock index, according to the report.
The considerations of selling ADRs are preliminary and details such as the size of the share sale and the bank lineup may change, the report said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Kioxia did not immediately reply to a request for comment outside of regular business hours. Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan also did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The Japanese chipmaker said in May it was preparing to list ADRs to broaden its investor base.
Asian tech firms and semiconductor companies are looking to expand their investor base in the U.S., even as AI stocks recently fell after top AI lab CEOs called for hitting the brakes on the technology’s development amid safety worries.
(Reporting by Sumedha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Leroy Leo)
