CJ E&M Is In The Process Of Acquiring Of Pledis Entertainment
CJ E&M is currently in the process of acquiring a majority stake of Pledis Entertainment.
A representative from CJ E&M confirmed the news of the possible acquisition, and that the details are still being worked out.
“It is true that CJ E&M is in talks with Pledis Entertainment to acquire a stake in the company, but details are still being discussed.” — CJ Representative
According to insiders, CJ E&M is discussing plans to acquire a 51% stake in Pledis Entertainment. Currently, Pledis is owned by CEO Han Sung Soo and So-Net Entertainment (which is part of Sony Japan Group).
Han Sung Soo and So-Net each owns 50% of Pledis Entertainment, which is valued at 50 billion KRW (approx. $46.4 million USD).
Reports indicate that CJ E&M’s acquisition of Pledis Entertainment is to strengthen overseas market penetration by securing intellectual property rights, ahead of CJ E&M’s upcoming merger with CJ O Shopping (CJ group’s home shopping and e-commerce business).
Once the merger receives shareholder approval from both companies, the new company will be re-branded as CJ ENM (which stands for “Entertainment and Merchandising”) on July 1st. The merger is aimed to combine CJ O Shopping’s strengths in commerce and merchandising with CJ E&M’s fortitude in content production and distribution.
A representative from Pledis Entertainment, however, has revealed that nothing has been determined as of yet.
“We have not yet made a decision regarding CJ E&M acquiring shares of Pledis. We are in talks to work on a new overseas business together.” — Pledis Representative
Pledis Entertainment was founded by CEO Kim Sung Soo in 2007. The agency is currently home to such artists as After School, SEVENTEEN, PRISTIN, Han Dong Geun, and NU’EST.
CJ E&M is an entertainment and media company, and a subsidiary of CJ Group. In addition to owning television channels Mnet, OCN, and tvN, CJ E&M is major shareholder to various entertainment companies such as Jellyfish, AOMG, Amoeba Culture, and more.
