Bang Si-hyuk, the founder of the agency behind K-pop boy-band sensation BTS, has more than doubled his wealth in a matter of months as shares of his company surged.
Mr Bang is worth about $3.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, after Hybe, formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment, rose 130 per cent since going public in South Korea in October. When its initial public offering priced, his net worth was about $1.5bn.
It is a testament to the popularity of BTS, the band with some of the best-selling K-pop albums of all time. It may also signal optimism about Hybe’s global ambitions after it announced in April the acquisition of the company behind worldwide stars Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande.
“Hybe has managed to bring other entertainment players over to its side,” said Sung Ho-park, an analyst at Yuanta Securities in Seoul. “That has helped earn the trust of investors that the business will do well.”
The company did not comment on Mr Bang’s net worth, beyond pointing to publicly available information on share counts.
Mr Bang, who owns 34 per cent of Hybe and is known as “Hitman” in South Korea, stepped down as chief executive to focus on his role as chairman of the board, the company said this month. He will also continue to oversee music production.
Hybe said on April 2 it was paying $1.05bn for Ithaca Holdings, the US media group behind the careers of Bieber and Grande. Scooter Braun, who led Ithaca, became co-chief executive of Hybe America after the deal.
Company filings show Mr Braun holds a 1 per cent stake in Hybe, which is worth $123.7 million. The seven members of BTS, all in their 20s, each have identical shareholdings valued at $18.3m. Bieber and Grande each hold shares worth $14.3m.
“I’m thrilled at the potential this alliance holds,” Bieber said in a video released after the transaction was announced. “Kudos to the teams. We’re getting support from every angle.”
Mr Bang started the company in 2005 after a career as a music producer. Initially, the business was so quiet that artists only stopped by the office to play tennis matches on the company’s Nintendo Wii, Mr Bang said in a 2017 interview. The firm almost went bankrupt in its early years, he said, before BTS released its debut album in 2013.
The band’s latest hit, Butter, has spent weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Hybe said in its IPO prospectus last year that almost 88 per cent of its revenue in the first half of 2020 came from BTS.
After the rally, Hybe shares trade at about 52 times estimated earnings, compared to an average of about 12 times for the benchmark Kospi index.
For one analyst, the company needs to find the “next BTS”, but it is already taking steps to go beyond the boy band.
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
|
1.
|
United States
|
|
2.
|
China
|
|
3.
|
UAE
|
|
4.
|
Japan
|
|
5
|
Norway
|
|
6.
|
Canada
|
|
7.
|
Singapore
|
|
8.
|
Australia
|
|
9.
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|
10.
|
South Korea
|
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
LOVE%20AGAIN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Jim%20Strouse%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Priyanka%20Chopra%20Jonas%2C%20Sam%20Heughan%2C%20Celine%20Dion%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Points tally
1. Australia 52; 2. New Zealand 44; 3. South Africa 36; 4. Sri Lanka 35; 5. UAE 27; 6. India 27; 7. England 26; 8. Singapore 8; 9. Malaysia 3
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
MATCH INFO
Arsenal 1 (Aubameyang 12’) Liverpool 1 (Minamino 73’)
Arsenal win 5-4 on penalties
Man of the Match: Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal)
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Read more about the coronavirus
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
PAKISTAN SQUAD
Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali (test captain), Babar Azam (T20 captain), Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imran Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Kashif Bhatti, Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah.
