Morgan Stanley Loses SK Hynix $26.5B U.S. ADR Listing Deal to BofA, Citi, Goldman, JPMorgan

According to Odaily, Morgan Stanley was excluded from the sole underwriting role for SK Hynix's U.S. ADR (American Depositary Receipt) listing. The transaction is valued at approximately $26.5 billion (40 trillion Korean won), making it the largest foreign company IPO in the U.S., with estimated underwriting fees around $130 million at a 0.5% commission rate. The underwriting syndicate was ultimately led by Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase.

Industry observers attribute Morgan Stanley's exclusion to its multiple bearish reports on the Korean semiconductor sector, including analysis on a "memory chip downturn," which may have cost the firm this major deal.