Fair Trade Commission "Approval of Big Hit's Acquisition of Pledis, BTS's Agency"

BTS, a group under Big Hit.

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] On the 18th, the Fair Trade Commission announced that it responded on the 15th that there are no concerns about competition restrictions regarding Big Hit Entertainment's acquisition of Pledis Entertainment's shares.

Big Hit acquired a total of 85% of Pledis' issued shares in two rounds in May and June of this year and filed a business combination notification with the Fair Trade Commission on June 18.

Big Hit is an entertainment agency representing globally renowned idol group BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan), Tomorrow X Together (TXT), GFriend, and others. It operates businesses including planning and managing artists, planning and producing music and albums, concerts, and video content production.

Pledis is also an entertainment agency specializing in planning and managing idol singers, similar to Big Hit. Seventeen and NU'EST are among its artists.

The Fair Trade Commission reviewed whether the business combination would restrict competition in the 'domestic entertainment management' and 'domestic popular music (music and album) planning and production' markets, where Big Hit and Pledis compete. The review concluded that the combination does not raise concerns about limiting competition in the relevant markets.

An official from the Fair Trade Commission explained, "After the combination, the market share and market concentration in the relevant markets are not high," adding, "We considered that major entertainment agencies such as SM, YG, and JYP, as well as comprehensive entertainment companies like Kakao M and CJ E&M, remain strong competitors, along with numerous other operators competing in the market."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.