“HYBE bid twice but was rejected.”
It didn’t take long MOVEMENTS announced they would not buy SM Entertainment. After a long struggle for management and shares, they concluded that they would try to partner with SM Entertainment on business platforms instead.
In a media statement on March 15, 2023, HYBE founder Bang Si Hyuk made a shocking revelation about his personal views. He declared that while the acquisition of SM Entertainment was not his personal goal, he had to think about things from the company’s perspective.
The acquisition of SM Entertainment was not my personal vision.
Since 2019, HYBE has been putting its finger on the acquisition of SM Entertainment. HYBE submitted bids twice, but were rejected. There was both support and opposition internally regarding the takeover. Those who supported it felt there was a need to build on their power to expand our global reach. The opposition believed that it would be better to simply invest such a huge amount of money in the future for the world market. At that point, as a leader, I decided that we need to look to the future and that it’s not certain that we need it now. And so we moved away from the takeover [back then].
— Bang Si Hyuk
After being rejected twice, HYBE temporarily put an end to its takeover thoughts. That’s when The Lee Soo Man suddenly contacted Bang Si Hyuk.
He asked me about my thoughts on the stock takeover and a lot of the factors that were against the SM Entertainment takeover disappeared then. I thought it was fine at that point [for the acquisition] so I agreed to it. The competitive and overheated takeover fight that ensued was unexpected. I decided we couldn’t get into this with a war that is disrupting the market and hurting shareholder value.
— Bang Si Hyuk
At the end, Bang Si Hyuk has a grudge against the artists and fans.
When we started, we thought about a better future for artists and fans, but as a board, we apologize that we weren’t able to do that. I was so sorry for causing so much trouble to the fans and artists that I couldn’t sleep at night.
— Bang Si Hyuk
Read more about the results of the fierce battle below.
Kakao will acquire SM Entertainment: HYBE to pursue a business partnership with the platform instead
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