SM Entertainment’s K-pop girl group Aespa at a media event in Seoul, South Korea.
Han Myung-Gu/WireImage
Chinese billionaire Ma Huateng’s company, Tencent, will buy almost 10% of the K-pop agency SM Entertainment. This is from a rival agency called Hybe. This move shows better relations between China and South Korea, which could increase demand for K-pop music.
Tencent Music will buy 2.2 million shares of SM Entertainment for about 243 billion won ($176.6 million). The shares will be sold for 110,000 won each, which is about 15% less than their last market price.
This deal will give Tencent Music a 9.7% stake in SM Entertainment, making it the second-largest owner after Kakao, which has 41.5% of the company. Hybe aims to manage its investments better with this sale.
Experts believe that the K-pop industry can grow, especially with new music from popular groups. SM Entertainment expects to benefit from new releases from Aespa, NCT WISH, and RIIZE.
Vocabulary List:
- Billionaire /ˌbɪl.jəˈneər/ (noun): A person whose wealth amounts to a billion or more in currency.
- Agency /ˈeɪ.dʒən.si/ (noun): An organization company or bureau that provides a particular service.
- Stake /steɪk/ (noun): An interest or share in a business particularly in terms of ownership.
- Expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/ (noun): A belief or anticipation that something will happen.
- Demand /dɪˈmænd/ (noun): The desire of consumers for a particular product or service.
- Investment /ɪnˈvɛst.mənt/ (noun): The action or process of investing money for profit.
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