– Kakao Entertainment , completing an unrivaled value chain from production to distribution in the entire entertainment industry, including IP, video , and music … Taking a leap forward as a leading global entertainment company with annual sales of 2 trillion won !
– Lee Je-wook took office as CEO of ‘ Melon Company ’ , which was spun off from Kakao, on July 1 , and is expected to accelerate synergy with Kakao Entertainment.
Kakao Entertainment (CEOs Jinsoo Lee and Seongsoo Kim) and Melon Company decided to merge the two companies at their respective board of directors meetings on the 15th. After receiving final approval at the general shareholders’ meeting on the 30th of this month, the merger is scheduled to be completed on September 1st. As a result, Melon Company (hereinafter referred to as Melon), which was spun off from Kakao on the 1st, will join Kakao Entertainment (hereinafter referred to as Kakao Entertainment) in the form of CIC in September, and Melon Company will be led by Lee Je-wook, its new CEO. Even after the merger with Melon, Kakao Entertainment will be run by Kim Seong-soo and Lee Jin-soo as their respective representatives.
The merger ratio between Kakao Entertainment and Melon is 1:7.8367918, and 7.836791 shares of Kakao Entertainment’s common stock are allocated to each share of Melon Company’s common stock.
Kakao Entertainment, which was launched last March through the combination of Kakao Page and Kakao M, the first large-scale merger between Kakao subsidiaries, has carried out a large-scale merger with Melon in just a few months, and another tectonic shift in the entertainment market is expected.
The merger of Kakao Entertainment and Melon was decided to secure global competitiveness and leadership in the entertainment industry, which is emerging as one of the most fierce battles in the world. Kakao Entertainment, which has recently been making steady progress globally, is expected to achieve annual sales of 2 trillion won through the combination with Melon, which has firmly maintained its position as the ‘No. 1 digital music platform’ operator since launching its service in 2004.
Kakao Entertainment is a global entertainment company with planning and production capabilities spanning all areas of content, including original story IP centered on webtoons and web novels, as well as music, drama, movies, digital, and performances. It owns a total of 8,500 original IPs, including ‘Only I Level Up’, ‘Itaewon Class’, ‘What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim’, ‘Incredible Rumors’, and ‘Navillera’, and has its own Kakao TV original production studio as well as Logos Film, It has six movie/drama production companies including Baram Pictures and the film company Moonlight, six actor management companies including BH Entertainment and Management Soop, and four music labels including Starship.
Focusing on this, we plan, produce, and present original video content for about 60 titles annually, including dramas, movies, and entertainment across all platforms, including mobile, TV, and screen, as well as more than 1,200 K-pop titles. Kakao Entertainment, which recently gained momentum in North American growth through the acquisition of Tapas and Radish, is making every effort to expand its global base to the Greater China region, ASEAN, Europe, and India in the second half of the year.
Melon is Korea’s leading music platform that laid the foundation for the current global K-POP craze, with a total of 33 million members and more than 5 million paid members. We provide members with a variety of content, including artist and performance information, videos, and music magazines, including music services that provide Korea’s largest big data-based personalized curation. In addition, MMA (Melon Music Awards), a K-POP festival for people around the world, has been held every year since 2009. It is leading the domestic audio content market by presenting a variety of original content such as ‘BIGHIT MUSIC RECORD’, ‘Movie & Park Sun-young’, ‘Today’s Music’, and ‘SMing’ through ‘Melon Station’, an audio content directly hosted by artists.
The merger of Kakao Entertainment and Melon, which have maintained industry leadership in each business field, is expected to create synergies from the diverse business portfolios of both companies. In particular, Kakao Entertainment’s music content business, which has strengthened its business competitiveness by planning, producing and investing in music with talented K-POP artists of various genres, is expected to create strong synergy with the Melon platform and lead the growth of the music industry. . In addition, BM development and linked promotions that engage ‘Melon’ users on Kakao Entertainment’s best platforms such as ‘Kakao Page’ and ‘Kakao Webtoon’ will be further strengthened.
This merger completes the puzzle of the ‘Value Chain Big Bang’ by joining Melon, the strongest music distribution platform, with Kakao Entertainment, which has been conducting business encompassing all fields and genres of the entertainment industry, including IP, music, video, digital, and performance. It has great meaning. By establishing all stages from planning, production to distribution across all entertainment fields, Kakao Entertainment has established an unrivaled business portfolio and value chain. With this merger, Kakao Entertainment plans to further expand its business area and expand its influence in the entertainment industry, thereby increasing its firepower to become a true world-class leading company.
With the news of the merger, expectations are high for Lee Je-wook, who will take over as the new head of Melon Company within Kakao Entertainment. CEO Lee Je-wook is Korea’s top music platform and music industry expert, having served as CEO of Kakao M and Kakao CMO (Chief Music Officer) before the Kakao merger. Based on the high understanding and affection for Melon and the music industry, it is expected that Melon will further solidify its status as the No. 1 platform and lead the synergy with Kakao Entertainment.
In addition, CEO Kim Seong-soo and CEO Lee Jin-soo, who are leading Kakao Entertainment, plan to support CEO Lee Je-wook and further strengthen Kakao Entertainment’s business. CEO Kim Seong-su, who has led the innovation of Korea’s content business structure, and CEO Lee Jin-soo, who has led the mobile content industry by leading innovation in the webtoon and web novel industry that did not exist in Korea, plan to support CEO Lee Je-wook based on their respective expertise. Synergy through collaboration between top experts representing each cultural content industry field is also highly anticipated.
Kakao Entertainment said, “This process itself, from the merger of Kakao Page and Kakao M to the merger with Melon Company, is an ‘innovation’ and is only the beginning as a global entertainment company.” “Through this merger, Kakao Entertainment will become an unrivaled company that has no place anywhere else in the world.” and established a strong entertainment business value chain and provided a global growth engine. “Through Kakao Entertainment’s unique formula for success, we will become a true world-class leading company in the global entertainment industry,” he said.
Melon Company said, “We expect that Melon, which has firmly maintained its No. 1 position since the launch of the service, will have an opportunity to make a quantum jump through a strong combination with Kakao Entertainment. “As a leading company with Kakao Entertainment, we will lead the development of the domestic music industry and grow into a global entertainment company.”
Source: Pangyo Techno Valley Official Newsroom
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