SM

Entertainment SM Entertainment acquires additional 11.4% stake in DearU for $9.2 mn

SM Entertainment Co., South Korea’s music powerhouse behind internationally popular boy and girl bands like EXO and aespa, has acquired an add...

Real estate Seoul office sales rebound for first time in 4 years in 2024

The Seoul office market bounced back for the first time in four years in 2024, with transaction volume soaring 78.7% to 13.4 trillion won ($9.1 bill...

Mergers & Acquisitions Korea Zinc’s role questioned in SM Entertainment stock manipulation case

When OneAsia Partners, a Seoul-based private equity fund operator, revised part of its PEF Havana I’s articles of association on Feb. 14, 2023...

Entertainment SM's UK K-pop group Dear Alice to debut with Gamma

South Korea's SM Entertainment Co. partnered with the US-based music label "Gamma." to globally debut its first British K-Pop boy group Dear Alice.A...

Entertainment Korean choreography copyrights to be protected by Naver Z deal

South Korean dance choreography copyrights will be protected through an agreement between Naver Z Corp., the operator of Asia’s largest metave...

Shareholder activism Align Partners calls on Doosan Bobcat to boost shareholder value

Align Partners Capital Management Inc., a South Korean activist fund, has called on Doosan Bobcat Inc., a global construction machinery maker owned ...

Artificial intelligence LG Uplus, SM Entertainment to launch AI Idols

South Korea's LG Uplus Corp. said on Sunday that it will team up with SM Entertainment Co. to develop content using generative artificial intellig...

K-pop SM Entertainment, S.Korean startup Jienem to build K-Pop hotel

South Korea's residence operator startup Jienem announced on Monday that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Kreation Music Rights (K...

Entertainment HYBE offers to sell $62 mn SM Entertainment shares

HYBE Co., the company behind global sensations BTS and NewJeans, has offered to sell some of its shares in K-pop pioneer SM Entertainment Co. in a b...

Aerospace & Defense SM Bexel supplies $14.7 mn lithium ampoule batteries to KDI

SM Bexel Co., the battery manufacturing arm of South Korea's SM Group, announced on Tuesday that it signed a supply contract worth 20 billion won ($...

Korean games S.Korean game developers to utilize idol group IPs

Kakao Games Corp., a game publishing unit of South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp., signed a licensing deal with SM Entertainment Co. to utilize idol ...

Batteries SM Bexel to localize military drone battery packs

SM Bexel Co., the battery manufacturing affiliate of South Korea's SM Group, announced on Tuesday that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU)...

Korean startups SM Entertainment founder invests $5.2 million in Mindlogic

K-pop pioneer SM Entertainment Co.'s founder and former Chief Producer Lee Soo-man is expected to invest up to 10 billion won ($7.5 million) in Mind...

Corporate governance Kakao to replace K-pop pioneer SM execs over poor governance

Kakao Corp. is set to replace executives of SM Entertainment Co., who ousted its founder Lee Soo-man when the South Korean mobile giant acquired the...

Corporate governance Kakao inspects SM Entertainment’s management   

Kakao Corp. has embarked on a special inspection of SM Entertainment Co.'s financial reporting for the first time since the South Korean internet gi...

Entertainment SM Entertainment invests in tech startup, music label

K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment Co. invested 1 billion won ($774,353) in a local app development startup valued at 20 billion won in June 2022 via...

Corporate restructuring Kakao in emergency mode under regulatory, antitrust probes

Kim Beom-soo, founder and chairman of South Korea’s largest mobile platform Kakao Corp., convened an emergency meeting with some 20 chief exec...

K-pop K-pop rookies, fresh boost for Korean entertainment stocks

South Korea’s entertainment stocks are poised to rally as K-pop newbies gain momemtum, attracting not only global music fans but also investor...

Shipping & Shipbuilding SM Korealine gets self-sailing approval from Panama

SM Korealine Co., a unit of SM Group's maritime division, announced on Monday that its subsidiary Korealine LNG, has obtained approval for self-sail...

K-pop K-pop label JYP Entertainment earnings disappoint; shares down

JYP Entertainment Corp., the music label behind K-pop bands Stray Kids, Twice and NiziU, saw its stocks drop on Monday due to its disappointing quar...

Shipping & Shipbuilding Korea's SM buys shipping line HMM shares ahead of bidding

South Korea’s SM Group has increased its ownership in HMM Co., the country’s top container shipping line. The 30th-largest conglomerate ...

K-pop K-pop powerhouse SM to launch US office with Kakao

K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment Co. and Kakao Entertainment will jointly launch an office in the US later this year to boost their global business...

Mergers & Acquisitions SM Group to buy HMM but not for over $3.5 bn: SM Chair Woo

SM Group has enough financial ammunition to buy the country’s No. 1 container shipping line HMM Co. but would not join the bid for the latter&...

Future mobility SM Entertainment founder invests in Chinese drone maker

Lee Soo-man, founder and former executive producer of South Korea's SM Entertainment Co., has reportedly made a huge investment in the Chinese self-...

Tech, Media & Telecom LG Elec, SM to launch home fitness app in July

LG Electronics Inc. and SM Entertainment Co. will jointly launch next month a home fitness app nine months after the project was delayed in Septem...

Petrochemicals Kumho Petrochem signs MOU with Japanese second-largest refiner

South Korea's Kumho Petrochemical Co. and Idemitsu Kosan Co., a Japanese refining and petrochemical company, announced on May 17 that they have sign...

The KED View Align Partners' shareholder activism? Think twice

The three-month saga over the control of the K-pop pioneer SM Entertainment Co. early this year was a painful lesson about activist funds: Don&rsquo...

Shareholder activism Korean activist fund mired in controversy over SM stock deals

A South Korean private equity firm leading shareholder activism against SM Entertainment Co. is mired in controversy as it has surfaced that it sold...

Entertainment Aespa, other SM artists to join BTS' K-pop fan platform

SM Entertainment Co.'s artists such as aespa and NCT are set to join HYBE Co.'s fan engagement service., boosting the competitiveness of the platfor...

Mergers & Acquisitions Kakao's tender offer for SM Ent. twice oversubscribed

South Korea’s Kakao Corp. has secured 40% of SM Entertainment Co. as planned, wrapping up its 1.25-trillion-won ($960 million) takeover bid fo...