À̹ÌÁö È®´ë [Photo by Big Hit Entertainment Co.]
Big Hit Entertainment Co., the K-pop agency that is home to the boyband sensation BTS, has filed for an initial public offering in Seoul, on track with its plan to go public by the end of the year.
The entertainment label filed the preliminary prospectus to list on the main Kospi market, Korea Exchange said Thursday.
The filing would be reviewed over the next 45 days, after which the company can hand in the remaining documents and pursue the offering within a six-month timeframe.
Bang Si-hyuk, the agency¡¯s founder and co-chief executive, holds a stake of 45.1 percent in the company, according to the filing.
Bookrunners are NH Investment & Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, JPMorgan Chase, with Mirae Asset Daewoo as joint underwriter. Analysts expect Big Hit¡¯s valuation to reach at least 2 trillion won ($1.62 billion).
À̹ÌÁö È®´ë Big Hit had its best year in 2019. It pulled in an operating profit of 98.7 billion won, eclipsing the total of Korea¡¯s three major labels SM, JYP and YG, which together earned 85.9 billion won. Big Hit¡¯s revenue in 2019 totaled 587.2 billion won, with net profit at 72.4 billion won.
Founded in 2005, Big Hit debuted its first act, BTS, in 2013. Despite its humble beginnings, the seven-member boyband gradually rose to international prominence, churning out record-breaking albums and playing to sold-out stadium tours worldwide.
Big Hit is rapidly expanding its roster of artists. Last year, it released its second boyband TOMORROW X TOGETHER. It also acquired local labels to bring other popular K-pop acts like GFriend, Seventeen and NU¡¯EST under its wing.
By Ahn Gab-seong and Kim Hyo-jin
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