SM Entertainment & Its Acquisition Plan: Kakao, CJ, & HYBE Showing Interest In The Agency!
The agency behind k-pop groups such as NCT, Red Velvet, EXO, Super Juniors, & more, SM Entertainment, is currently in heated talks with other companies with regards to an acquisition plan that might be worth KRW 4 trillion, which is approximately 3.5 billion USD.
As per reports from media outlets, CJ Group, the group of companies consisting of CJ ENM, CJ Entertainment, and a plethora more, has recently shown interest in acquiring SM Entertainment. Kakao is still the top agency assumed to get SM Entertainment, having HYBE Labels as a strong second.
SM Entertainment went on to reveal that they are in multiple talks with regards to the future of the agency and possible business partners. But nothing has been set in stone as of the moment.
As mentioned above, Kakao is the most expected to acquire SM Entertainment. Recently, the agency has offered SM Entertainment 2.5 trillion KRW which is about 2.17 billion USD for the acquisition of the company.
But it seems CJ ENM has a chance to match or overcome Kakao as Miku Lee, the vice-chairman for CJ ENM, is returning to Korea to have a meeting with Lee Soo Man and talk about the potential acquisition.
Adding to this, HYBE Labels offered a higher offer compared to Kakao's offer but the initial proposal has been turned down by Lee Soo Man. The reasons for the rejection have not been revealed to the public.
At present, SM Entertainment has a market capitalization amounting to 1.38 trillion KRW which is around 1.20 billion USD. But many believe that SM Entertainment's stock prices are simply at a lower value compared to what it is truly worth.
The value is expected to rise as SM Entertainment keeps performing well in the local and international markets.
Stay tuned for more details regarding SM Entertainment's acquisition plan.
