The agency for South Korean boy band BTS, HYBE Co Ltd, abandoned their offer to acquire SM Entertainment Co Ltd on Sunday, paving the way for social media behemoth Kakao Corp to assume company control.ContentsWhy Is Sm Attractive?Family Feud with ‘Emperor Lee’Takeover BattleHow Does the Acquisition Help Kakao? Why Is Sm Attractive? SM was the […]
More than seven out of 10 listed Korean companies are set to hold annual shareholders meetings throughout this week and market watchers are paying particular attention to JB Financial and KT&G, whose annual meetings are expected to become the settings of proxy fights initiated by activist funds. JB Financial Group is facing a showdown in a proxy battle with Align Partners, a local activist fund, at its annual shareholders meeting on Thursday. Align Partners is the financial giant s second-largest shareholder with a 14.04 percent stake. As a key shareholder, the activist fund has been urging the group to increase dividends since early this year. Yet the group s shareholder return policy announced in early February, deciding to pay 715 won ($0.55) of dividend per share, failed to satisfy the activist fund s demand, prompting it to submit a shareholder proposal urging the group to pay 900 won in dividends per share.
Music News - Two of South Korea’s biggest entertainment companies have been in the limelight recently, and it is not for their artistes’ latest music. Hybe, K-pop phenomenon BTS’ management agency, is looking at taking a controlling stake in SM Entertainment that could potentially. Read more at www.tnp.sg
Korea s major financial institutions stand at a critical crossroads ahead of their regular shareholders meetings this month, facing mounting political pressure to drastically reform their governance structures. This poses a serious dilemma for leading financial holding firms, such as KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NongHyup, even after they chalked up record earnings on steep rate hikes. A total of 30 out of 38 outside directors at the five financial institutions finish their terms around the end of March.