SEOUL, June 1 (Korea Bizwire) — EXO members Baekhyun, Xiumin and Chen have notified their agency, SM Entertainment, that they are terminating their exclusive contracts with the agency, their lawyer said Thursday, a move that is likely to cause a stir in the K-pop scene. The trio cited the agency’s practice of imposing “unfairly long-term” [...]
SEOUL, April 26 (Korea Bizwire) — SM Entertainment, a K-pop powerhouse, said Wednesday it has acquired a local post-production company to reinforce its metaverse and content business capabilities. SM said it acquired a 51 percent stake in Studio Clon a week ago through Studio Kwangya, the agency’s subsidiary specializing in the production of content for [...]
SEOUL, April 17 (Korea Bizwire) — SM Entertainment’s artists will join Weverse, a fan community platform created by Hybe as part of the two K-pop companies’ cooperation plan announced last month, the platform service and SM said Monday. They said 12 teams of K-pop artists who belong to SM will move from Kwangya Club, its [...]
SEOUL, March 28 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp. said Tuesday that it has secured a total 40 percent stake in SM Entertainment through a tender offer, gaining management control over the K-pop powerhouse. Earlier this month, Kakao and its entertainment unit, Kakao Entertainment Corp., had offered 150,000 won (US$115.4) per share [...]
SEOUL, March 24 (Korea Bizwire) — Hybe, the K-entertainment powerhouse behind global superstar group BTS, said Friday it will sell off all of its 15.78 percent stake in SM Entertainment to Kakao Corp. after its bid to take over the rival entertainment agency fell through. Hybe said in a regulatory filing that it will sell [...]
SEOUL, March 12 (Korea Bizwire) — Hybe, the K-entertainment powerhouse behind global superstar BTS, said Sunday it has decided to halt its bid to take over industry giant SM Entertainment in an agreement with Kakao Corp. The tech giant Kakao and its entertainment unit, Kakao Entertainment Corp., will have management control over SM Entertainment, while [...]
SEOUL, March 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp. on Tuesday announced a tender offer for SM Entertainment Co. shares to gain stable management control over the K-pop powerhouse and increase leverage to win the intensifying battle with Hybe. Kakao and its entertainment unit, Kakao Entertainment Corp., offered 150,000 won (US$115.4) per [...]
SEOUL, March 4 (Korea Bizwire) — A Seoul court on Friday blocked K-pop agency SM Entertainment Co.’s planned issuance of new shares and convertible bonds to an entertainment arm of tech giant Kakao Corp. The Seoul Eastern District Court granted an injunction filed by SM’s estranged founder Lee Soo-man, barring Kakao Entertainment’s deal to become [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — SM Entertainment, a K-pop powerhouse, said Thursday it will inject 1 trillion won (US$767.8 million) into programs to facilitate its artists’ advance into the global market and build a unified K-pop fan platform. The plan was included in the global expansion and investment strategy announced by the company on [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — SM Entertainment has agreed to give Kakao Entertainment, a subsidiary of technology firm Kakao Corp., exclusive rights to circulate its albums and music as part of its alliance with the tech giant against rival K-pop company Hybe’s takeover bid, music industry sources and investment banks said Thursday. They said [...]