The BTS management agency will become the largest shareholder in SM Entertainment
SEOUL: The management agency of popular K-pop group BTS, HYBE is reportedly set to become the largest shareholder in its rival company, SM Entertainment.
Citing a CNN Business report , this move is to strengthen HYBE’s dominance in the South Korean music industry, where it is already the biggest player trying to expand overseas.
The South Korean entertainment giant’s agency announced a deal in which HYBE is set to own a 14.8% stake in SM Entertainment worth 422.8 billion Korean won (RM1,449.2 million).
For info, SM Entertainment was founded by the legendary music producer, Lee Soo-man who is called the “Godfather of K-pop” in South Korea.
The agency also remains widely known for managing a string of famous South Korean artists such as NCT 127, EXO, BoA and Girl’s Generation. In addition to BTS, HYBE also manages famous groups such as NewJeans, Tomorrow x Together and Seventeen.
In the meantime, the announcement of this merger also saw SM Entertainment shares continue to jump up to 15% in Seoul today while HYBE shares rose 3%.
Meanwhile, HYBE also took steps to expand its influence around the world when it announced another major deal in the United States as the owner of Quality Control at a hip-hop music label company that represents popular artists including Migos and Lil Yachty.
Internet and entertainment analyst at KB Securities, Sunhwa Lee thinks this agreement is also seen to help HYBE build a stronger brand in the United States (US) music market.
“The company’s long-term dream is to go beyond the boundaries of K-pop music and develop new global artists across multiple genres,” he said.
