The next step in K-pop’s growth may lie not in music itself, but in exporting K-pop’s disciplined development, production and promotion model.
After losing its bid for a controlling stake in the K-pop agency to rival bidder Kakao, HYBE has struck a platform collaboration with its former target.
HYBE still owns an 8.8% stake in the competing K-pop company after Kakao purchased an additional 1.66 million of its shares.
Streaming company LiveOne was the Billboard Global Music Index's greatest gainer after rising 13.1%.
HYBE will offload its 15% stake to its South Korean rival, marking an official end to the bidding war that erupted over SM.
Chairman Bang Si-hyuk says HYBE must have a “sense of urgency” in efforts to grow outside its home country.
The agency behind BTS said it was still studying possible avenues for collaboration with SM, once South Korea’s dominant K-pop company.
The agency that created BTS is embroiled in a public struggle with SM’s powerhouse founder Lee Soo-man. Will it end with a cliffhanger?
The companies are wrestling for control of SM with competing board slates at the March 31 annual meeting in Seoul.
The announcement came a day after a court injunction forced Kakao to cancel its plan to acquire a 9.05% stake directly from SM.
