Kioxia says investment vehicle for SK Hynix is top shareholder

[TOKYO] Kioxia’s biggest shareholder is an investment vehicle that holds shares claimed by rival SK Hynix.

The flash memory maker’s former parent, Toshiba, has trimmed its stake in Kioxia to around 14.12 per cent, down from 14.48 per cent, as at Aug 3, Kioxia said in a statement on Tuesday (Aug 11).

That makes BCPE Pangea Cayman2, a company set up by Bain Capital, the Japanese chipmaker’s top shareholder with a 14.19 per cent stake, it said.

South Korea’s SK Hynix holds bonds that can be converted into “substantially all” of the voting rights of BCPE Pangea Cayman2, according to Kioxia’s annual report.

In that report, the Japanese company explicitly lists SK Hynix’s claim as risk factor, saying it represents a possible conflict of interest.

SK Hynix took part in a Bain Capital-led consortium that acquired Kioxia in 2018.

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As part of that deal, SK Hynix promised to keep its stake at or below 15 per cent of Kioxia’s voting rights until 2028, unless the Japanese chipmaker agreed to allow a bigger stake. BLOOMBERG