BTS label HYBE to wholly own K-pop band Enhypen agency

HYBE Co., the agency of K-pop sensation BTS, is slated to acquire a controlling stake in music label Belift Lab Inc. as South Korean entertainment powerhouse CJ ENM Co. will sell off all the Belift shares it owns.

CJ ENM has signed an agreement to sell off a 51.5% stake in Belift to HYBE at 147.1 billion won ($111.3 million), according to a regulatory filing on Thursday. The transaction will be made on Sep. 1, after which HYBE will wholly own the smaller music label.

HYBE suggested the deal to spur Belift's training of K-pop artists and music content production, industry insiders say.  

HYBE and CJ ENM jointly established Belift with 7 billion won in 2018 to create K-pop stars to follow on BTS’ success. Belift debuted the seven-member boy band Enhypen in 2020.

Belift posted 599 billion won in revenue in 2022, up 74.1% on-year. It logged 11.7 billion won in operating profit last year, 74.6% from the previous year.

HYBE suggested the deal to CJ ENM first, according to industry insiders.

Write to Jong-Kwan Park at pjk@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.