Korean pop boyband BTS has proven their star power anew as they are expected to rake in around $55 million as music label Big Hit Entertainment makes its IPO in the Korea Composite Stock Price Index or KOSPI next month.
Big Hit Entertainment is expected to be listed on the KOSPI market on October 15 and as early as now investment analysts say the IPO will be the largest in three years in South Korea.
One of Korea’s biggest K-pop label is issuing its shares at 135,000 won ($115) each in a filing on Monday, raising 962.55 million won ($822 million) and valuing the company at 4.8 trillion won ($4.1 billion) making the deal South Korea’s largest stock offering since July 2017, according to data compiled by Dealogic, CNN reports.
Big Hit CEO Bang Si-Hyuk, the popular boyband’s music producer, will also become an instant billionaire during the IPO after owning as much as 43% of Big Hit shares.
Each BTS band members composed of Park Ji-min, Jeon Jung-kook, Kim Nam-joon ( better known as RM), Kim Tae-hyung (V), Jung Ho-seok (J-Hope), Min Yoon-gi (Suga), and Kim Seok-jin (Jin) received 68,385 shares of Big Hit in August. The Big Hit shares will total $7.9 million each at issue price when it starts trading on October 15th.
The number of new shares to be issued is around 7.1 million, which Big Hit plans to raise 962.6 billion Korean won ($818.3 million). Further demand is expected to come from retail investors including millions of BTS fans which they called Army that are desperate to secure a stake in the company managing their favorite K-Pop idols.
Army take out loans just to buy Big Hit shares
According to popular fandom site Allkpop, thousands of diehard fans of the popular Korean boyband have already taken out loans just to buy shares at Big Hit and support their idols. Fans of BTS, the Army, which includes young girls to young professionals, are known to have been shelling out monies for concert tickets, albums, and merchandise being rolled out by Big Hit.
In August, the company reported a 49.7 billion Korean won or $42.6 million profit for the first half of 2020 driven by online concerts and merchandise sales despite cancellations of huge concerts in the U.S., Europe, and Asia during the pandemic.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, profit for the Korean music label has also been soaring as it offsets losses caused by the pandemic. Sales of music albums and merchandise featuring BTS have also been increasing despite the pandemic, the company disclosed.
Based on the latest filing, Big Hit derives 97% of its income mainly from BTS which has a contract with the entertainment label until 2024.
How popular is Korean boyband BTS?
BTS or Bangtan Boys is the fastest group to earn four number one albums since the Beatles in 1968. They are also South Korea’s best-selling artists of all time selling 20 million albums cumulatively.
The Korean boyband also released its first English-language song entitled “Dynamite” on August 21st debuting at No. 1 at the US Billboard Hot 100 chart while its music video breaking YouTube record for the most viewed premiere and most viewed video in the first 24 hours of release. The song’s music video also became the first on the platform to surpass 100 million Youtube views in less than one day.
BTS has also been tapped as global ambassadors for the youth delivering speeches to the UN General Assembly. They have also been instrumental for a revitalized the Korean music industry as they are credited for the huge online purchases of K-pop merchandise.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government also credits the boyband for helping boost the tourism industry in the South Korean capital Seoul by bringing more than 700,000 tourists annually. They have also partnered with big brands including Puma, LG, Samsung, and Hyundai for various advertising campaigns.
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