Sivers Semiconductors: Debt Wiped, Cash Raised, But Stock Loses Over Half Its Value as Auditor Scrutiny Intensifies

Swedish chip maker Sivers Semiconductors strengthens balance sheet with debt-to-equity conversion and oversubscribed placement, yet stock plunges 55% amid dilution and going concern doubts.

Sivers Semiconductors has pulled two levers to strengthen its finances in quick succession — converting a $12 million loan into equity and closing an oversubscribed placement worth nearly SEK 700 million. The moves slash the Swedish chip developer’s debt load and inject fresh capital for its push into AI data centres, satellite communications, and defence. Yet the market response has been brutal: the stock has shed roughly 55% in 30 days, sliding to €3.58, as investors zero in on dilution, auditor going-concern doubts, and a wave of short-seller allegations.

The most recent capital event came on July 3, when lender Bootstrap Europe exercised its conversion right on a $12 million convertible note. That created 22,847,044 new ordinary shares, diluting existing holders by roughly 6.4%. The note was part of a broader $17 million credit line agreed in February 2026, structured as a $5 million secured term loan and the now-converted $12 million tranche. CFO Heine Thorsgaard described the conversion as a strategic step that substantially reduces the company’s indebtedness, freeing up resources for growth segments such as indium phosphide lasers and optical amplifiers used in AI infrastructure and automotive lidar.

Just weeks earlier, in late June, Sivers completed a directed share issue of 12,280,701 new shares at a combined price of roughly SEK 700 million. The placement was heavily oversubscribed, with institutional investors taking up multiple times the available allocation. Proceeds are earmarked for expanding production capacity in InP lasers and optical amplifiers — technologies the company sees as central to its turnaround. Following that round, the analysis firm Redeye raised its base-case valuation.

Despite the improved balance sheet, the stock has been under relentless pressure. The conversion alone added almost 23 million shares, but two other factors have compounded the selling: an auditor’s warning that casts doubt on Sivers’ ability to continue as a going concern, and allegations from short sellers that have further soured sentiment. The combination has driven the stock far below its 50-day moving average of €6.21 and a 52-week high of €10.23 reached on June 3.

An external headwind has also siphoned liquidity away from smaller chip names. South Korean memory giant SK Hynix is preparing a massive Nasdaq listing that could raise up to $29 billion, with order books closing on the day of the conversion. Market observers note that such a megadeal acts as a powerful magnet for capital, starving smaller players like Sivers of trading volume and investor attention.

Sivers’ management has taken steps to signal commitment. CEO Vickram Vathulya and CFO Thorsgaard have signed strict lock-up agreements, pledging not to sell any of their own shares until mid-July 2026. They are betting on a pipeline of contracts worth nearly $800 million in AI data centre and defence projects to turn the business around. The annualised volatility has surged to an extreme 219%, while the relative strength index sits near 34 — a historically oversold reading that, so far, has failed to produce a chart-based floor.

All eyes are now on August 6, when Sivers reports second?quarter results. If the management cannot present tangible operational progress by then, the new financial structure may not be enough to prevent another leg down. For the moment, the bull case rests on whether the expanded capacity for InP lasers and optical amplifiers can quickly translate into actual orders, and whether the market will eventually look past the dilution to the cleaner balance sheet beneath.