HYBE Sells Remaining Stake in K-Pop Rival SM Entertainment for $177 Million
HYBE has sold its remaining 9.38% stake in rival SM Entertainment to Tencent Music Entertainment for approximately $177 million, the company revealed in regulatory filing. The SM agency is home to such groups as EXO, Aespa (pictured above) and NCT 127; Tencent Music is a subsidiary of Chinese tech giant Tencent. The deal will see 2.21 million shares transferred at 110,000 Korean won per share and is set to close on May 30, according to the filing.
HYBE initially acquired a 14.8% stake in SM from founder Lee Soo Man, and later upped its holding to 15.78% through an unsuccessful takeover bid, being topped by Kakao and its subsidiary Kakao Entertainment, which now holds slightly over 40%. Tencent is now the second-largest shareholder in SM.
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According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, cited in Music Business Worldwide, HYBE stated that I has 'divested non-core assets as part of a choice and concentration strategy,' adding that the 'Secured funds will be used to secure future growth engines.' It noted that SM says that the company plans to 'work more closely with Tencent Music' following the share sale.
MBW notes that China-based Tencent Music's investment in SM, a South Korean music company, coincides with reports that China will be lifting its ban on South Korean cultural and entertainment content imports. That ban was imposed by China in 2017 in response to the deployment of a U.S. missile system in South Korea. With a population of more than 1.4 billion people, China would seem ripe for Korean entertainment.
Tencent Holdings also owns stakes in other K-pop operations, including Kakoa (a 4.61% stake) labels and YG Entertainment.
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