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Investing.com-- Kioxia shares fell sharply on Wednesday after recent reports said that an entity backed by Bain Capital planned to sell more than $2 billion worth of shares in the Japanese chipmaker.
Kioxia (TYO:285A) slid 8.8% to a one-month low of 8,982 yen, vastly lagging a 2% jump in the Nikkei 225 index.
Bloomberg reported that BCPE Pangea Cayman, an entity backed by Bain, plans to sell 36 million Kioxia shares on Friday to overseas investors. Based on Tuesday’s closing price, the deal could be valued as high as 355 billion yen ($2.3 billion).
Kioxia clocked strong gains this year as the chipmaker benefited from optimism over artificial intelligence demand. Shares of the firm hit a record high in early-November before tumbling from that level on weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings.
Kioxia is trading up nearly 420% so far in 2025, with shares still trading at six times their late-2024 IPO price.
Bain’s block sale also comes amid increasing investor concerns over an AI-fueled bubble in technology valuations, a trend that weighed heavily on shares of bellwether Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA).
Concerns over circular financing and depreciating chip valuations also crept into markets over the past month, pressuring tech valuations across the board.