South Korean music company YG Entertainment on Friday said it has attracted 100 billion won ($85 million) in investment from the Chinese online giant Tencent and mobile ticketing service, Beijing Weiying Technology Co.
YG said its CEO Yang Min-suk will sign an investment deal with Suman Wang, who is in charge of Tencent's video, film and drama businesses, and Ning Lin, founder and CEO of Weiying, at a Seoul hotel Tuesday.
Under the deal, YG will issue shares worth $55 million for Weiying, whose second-largest shareholder is Tencent, and transfer shares worth about $30 million owned by its chief producer Yang Hyun-suk and CEO Yang Min-suk to Tencent.
The deal will make the two Chinese firms YG's third- and fourth-largest shareholders, respectively, with 4.5 percent and 8.2 percent stakes in the company.
"Our company has logged over a 30 percent increase in sales over the past decade. In maintaining such growth, broadening our business in China is important," YG said in a press release.
"We're going to build a joint venture with China in the future and put more effort into increasing activities by YG-managed singers and actors in the country, discover and cultivate Chinese artists, and build the infrastructure for advancing into the Chinese performing arts market. (Yonhap)