HYBE in stronger position after court blocks SM Entertainment’s share sale to Kakao

HYBE has taken the upper hand after the latest court decision blocked SM Entertainment’s plans to sell stakes to Kakao. The Seoul Eastern District Court released an injunction order late last week which prevents the latter from selling KRW217.2 billion or $167 million worth of new shares to the Jeju-si headquartered internet firm.

As per Korea Joongang Daily, last week, HYBE also signed a deal to acquire an additional 0.98% of SM shares from Galaxia SM, a sports marketing and management firm and an affiliate of the Hyosung Group. The purchase brought the entertainment company’s stake in HYBE to 15.78%.

BTS boy group’s management agency will be buying 233,813 shares of SME from Galaxia SM for KRW23.1 billion. This deal is expected to be completed this week. Prior to this, HYBE bought a 14.8% stake in SME from the company’s own founder, Lee Soo Man, who previously owned 18.46%.

As a result, Bang Si Hyuk’s entertainment firm became the largest shareholder of SM Entertainment. Lee Soo Man said that HYBE and Bang Si Hyuk are the best replacement after him for SM’s takeover.

“SM was a challenge, happiness, and a blessing for me,” the SM founder said in a letter addressed to the company, which he publicly released after the court decision. “The post-Lee Soo-man SM has been my longstanding concern.”

He added, “For me, ‘the best’ means in terms of production and although HYBE was a competitor to SM, BTS’s success is a source of pride for all citizens of Korea. HYBE’s chairman Bang Si Hyuk is someone like me, who has been through the lows and highs as a music producer.”

Lee Soo Man went on to say that he has completed the first stage of his life as the founder of SME and he is now ready to move to the second stage. He revealed that his next phase is “where technology and culture fuse together”, and he is taking steps slowly toward this direction.

HYBE also issued a statement saying that with the court’s ruling, everything is now falling into place, and the illegal attempt of SME’s board to take over the company has been legally stopped.

Finally, in the latest update, Kakao reportedly cancelled its SME investment following the court order. HYBE is also calling for the SM board to end the deal with Kakao and take back the recommendation for the voting of a director that was nominated by Kakao as well.