HYBE Surpasses 5 Trillion Won in Asset, to Become 1st Entertainment Conglomerate?
HYBE, which manages groups like BTS, TXT, Seventeen, NewJeans, LE SSERAFIM, Enhypen and ILLIT, is expected to become a conglomerate.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on April 8, HYBE’s assets were estimated at 5.34 trillion won (approx 4 billion USD) as of the end of 2023, showing an increase of about 9.8% compared to 2022.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission has designated companies with fair assets exceeding 5 trillion won as conglomerates every year. Fair assets are calculated by adding up the total assets of general affiliates and the total capital of financial affiliates. This time, the total assets of HYBE were calculated by combining 16 affiliates, including Weverse Company, Big Hit Music, and Pledis Entertainment, among others.
In the industry, there is a growing expectation that HYBE will be designated as a conglomerate, becoming the first entertainment company to receive such a title.
Once designated as a conglomerate, HYBE will be subject to disclosure obligations under the Fair Trade Act, and measures such as restricting internal transactions of the owner’s family will be added as the same person (total number) is determined. Limitations on the ownership of stocks by immediate family members and relatives within four cousins and three relatives of executives will also be imposed.
HYBE actually had the potential to be designated as a conglomerate in 2023, but it was not designated because its assets did not reach 5 trillion won in 2022.
The designation results for this year will be announced on May 1st, and the Fair Trade Commission stated, “We are analyzing and reviewing relevant data for the designation of conglomerates for disclosure this year, and there is currently no decision on whether HYBE and other conglomerates will be designated.”
Regardless of this year’s designation, it is still uncertain whether HYBE will be designated as a conglomerate next year. It is known that the Fair Trade Commission is considering relaxing the criteria for designating conglomerates and plans to change the criteria to link it to GDP rather than assets, ranging from 0.25% to 0.3% of GDP.
Source: Nate
