[ad_1]
South Korean technology company Kakao will launch a tender offer to acquire up to 35% of the outstanding shares of SM Entertainment.The move comes a day after a court injunction forced Kakao to scrap its plan to acquire a 9.05% stake directly from SM, whose roster includes NCT 127 and red velvet; Court injunction reportedly undermines SM’s plan to issue new shares and award stake to Kakao Bloomberg and Reuters.
Kakao and its subsidiary Kakao Entertainment are seeking to become SM’s largest shareholder and partner to help rebuild the company after SM’s board of directors terminated the production contract with the company’s legendary founder, Li Xiumanon December 31, Lee sold most of his SM shares to HYBE, which is BTSWin court on February 22 ban Blocked SM from issuing new shares to Kakao on Friday. As a result, Kakao was forced to seek a stake from existing SM shareholders instead.
HYBE had sought an additional 25 percent stake in SM through a tender offer, but was able to buy just under 1 percent of the outstanding shares, the company revealed in a statement. Regulatory filing Monday (6 March). This brings HYBE’s stake in SM to 15.8%. With Lee’s 3.65% stake, HYBE has voting rights in 19.4% of the outstanding shares. The second largest shareholder, the Korean National Pension Service, holds a 6.2% stake in SM.
Kakao and HYBE are locked in a battle for control of SM’s board ahead of the company’s annual shareholder meeting on March 31. Work hard to address factors hindering SM Entertainment’s growth,” the company said in a statement.
HYBE sees itself as the more skilled and experienced company leading SM’s global ambitions, and has criticized its rival for its “completely irresponsible contract” with Kakao.
Kakao and its subsidiary Kakao Entertainment, of which raised The sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia and Singapore offered $966 million in January at 150,000 won ($115.46) per share — a 25 percent premium to HYBE’s 120,000 won ($92.36) per share.
Shares in SM rose 13.8 percent to 148,100 won ($114.09) in Seoul on Tuesday morning after news of Kakao’s takeover bid broke.
Additional reporting by Jeyup S. Kwaak.
[ad_2]
Source link