Kakao to Invest in Talent Agencies

Published on 2018/06/28 | Source

Kakao M, a subsidiary of dotcom giant Kakao, is taking steps to buy three entertainment management agencies.

Kakao already owns Melon, Korea's No. 1 online music-streaming site.

Kakao M said Wednesday it will buy a stake in BH Entertainment, which has among its stable of actors Lee Byung-hun, Go Soo, Yoo Ji-tae and Han Ga-in. It will also acquire a partial stake in J,Wide Company, which manages Lee Sang-yoon and Choi Daniel. It did not say how much it is paying.

It also signed a strategic tie-up agreement with Soop Entertainment which manages actors like Gong Yoo, Kong Hyo-jin and Jeon Do-yeon.

The move is aimed at tapping into the resurgent Korean Wave and using the entertainment business as a bridge to access overseas markets.

Kakao M plans to spin off its contents business into a separate unit. Lee Jae-wook, head of Kakao M, said, "We will take the new unit public next year".

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