SK hynix drops $377M on Penguin Solutions, lands 9.1% stake

SK hynix is buying deeper into the AI data center buildout. The memory giant disclosed in a Schedule 13D/A filed November 2 that it picked up 200,000 shares of Penguin Solutions convertible preferred stock for $377.16 million, a transaction that closed October 29. The math works out to 9.1% beneficial ownership on an as-converted basis, with the preferred shares priced at $1,885.81 apiece. The stock didn't come off the open market. The shares moved from Astra AI Infra LLC, a subsidiary of SK Telecom, to SHIFTIX1 LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SK hynix NAND Product Solutions Corp. In other words, the position stayed inside the SK Group family the whole time. That internal shuffle still marks a big markup. SK Telecom originally paid $200 million for the same preferred shares back in December 2024, so the transfer values the stake at nearly double what it cost less than two years ago. The preferred shares also carry a 6% cumulative dividend and a stack of governance rights, including board nomination privileges and consent rights under the investor agreement. Penguin Solutions, listed on Nasdaq under PENG, builds the plumbing behind AI compute — server clusters, networking and storage systems that hyperscalers and enterprises lean on for heavy AI workloads. The equity consolidation didn't come out of nowhere: in January 2025, Penguin, SK Telecom and SK hynix signed a collaboration agreement aimed squarely at AI data center solutions. Penguin has projected fiscal 2026 revenue between $1.5 billion and $1.73 billion. With SK hynix now holding a formal slice of the company and a seat at the governance table, the partnership moves from handshake to balance sheet.

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