HYBE turns focus to US after withdrawing bid for SM Entertainment – Deadline

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Korean movemanaging a K-pop group BTSsaid it planned a series of acquisitions and investments in the U.S. entertainment market this year after withdrawing from a bitter battle with internet giant Kakao for control of rival agencies SM Entertainment.

Bang Si-hyuk, founder and chairman of HYBE, said the company will announce “substantial acquisitions and investments within this year as part of our expansion in the US.”

Bang also said recently that the K-pop industry is losing the growth momentum it enjoyed during the pandemic, and major players need to scale up and diversify to survive. Part of the reason for this slowdown is that BTS is currently taking a break as a group. “Without BTS, the market size would shrink dramatically,” Bang said.

After a $1 billion merger announced in April 2021, HYBE already owns Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, which manages Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, through its HYBE America subsidiary.

HYBE announced on March 12 that after “observing that due to the cooperation with Kakao and KakaoEntertainmentwhich it fears will have a negative impact on shareholder value.

A few days ago, Kakao made an offer of nearly $1 billion to acquire up to 35% of SM Entertainment and prevent HYBE from gaining control.

HYBE, which owns 14.8 percent of SM Entertainment after acquiring the stake held by former head producer Lee Soo-man, now says it has held talks with SM and Kakao and “agreed to cooperate on matters related to their platforms.”

SM Entertainment manages major K-pop groups including Super M, BoA, Girls’ Generation, Super Junior and NCT Dream.

Kakao is now likely to become the company’s largest shareholder after continuing with plans to buy its shares by March 26.