Kakao Entertainment Faces Uncertain Future With Speculations Rising About Kakao Selling It Off

Kakao Entertainment (Kakao Ent hereon)  a major player in the Korean entertainment industry, has become a topic of interest after recent speculations of its parent company, Kakao, looking for potential buyers for the subsidiary.

On April 9, KST, media outlet The Bell reported that Kakao had sent letters to major shareholders of Kakao Ent informing them about the company’s intent to sell its controlling stake in the subsidiary. Notably, with a 66.03% stake in the company, Kakao is currently the largest shareholder of Kakao Ent.

Kakao Ent is home to some major entertainment labels, including SM Entertainment, Starship Entertainment, EDAM Entertainment, Antenna, and High Up Entertainment. It also recently acquired the advertising production companies Dolphiners Films and Studio K110. Since these labels house some big-name artists such as IVE, IU, aespa, and Yoo Jae Suk, among others, the future of Kakao Entertainment has become a hot topic among K-Content audiences.

However, soon after the reports came out, Kakao denied the claims, but in vague terms. The company clarified that they were “seeking various ways to come up with a plan to foster sustainable growth of Kakao Entertainment and fortify the Kakao Group value” but hadn’t settled on any particular plan yet.

“We will file details within one month or when the details are finalized,” Kakao added, leaving the possibility of Kakao Ent getting sold off open-ended.

Stay tuned for more updates.