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☆ Bolloré Jr. readies Vivendi for asset purge
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But the markdown gives Yannick more latitude to end his father’s ill-fated Italian foray while continuing to play hardball to raise the price tag. Here again, the move will give Bolloré junior more freedom to consider offers from potential buyers, which the European Commission will have to approve. At 70, the elder Bolloré, who remains in charge of the family holding that owns a 30% stake in Vivendi, is gradually implementing his succession plan. At 9.8 euros, Vivendi’s stock fails to capture the value of its various investments and trades below an analysts’ target of between 12 to 15 euros. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Kakao Strikes Back in the Battle of K-Pop Empires
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Jacky Wong | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

South Korea internet company Kakao is flashing its checkbook to secure a seat at the pinnacle of the country’s popular music industry. Entertainment company Hybe, manager for global K-pop sensation BTS, will need to pay up if it wants to compete. Kakao, together with its entertainment unit, on Tuesday made a tender offer of nearly $1 billion for 35% of K-pop label SM Entertainment. The high bid price shows Kakao’s determination to take control of one of the largest K-pop labels. Kakao had already bought nearly 5% of SM, which manages bands like Super Junior and Aespa, last week in the market.

☆ Sea sails past growth vs. profitability debate
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, March 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Singapore technology giant Sea (SE.N) on Tuesday reported its first ever quarterly profit, beating regional tech firms like GoTo (GOTO.JK) and Grab (GRAB.O) to the punch. The almost $1 billion swing from a fourth-quarter loss in 2021 to a $423 million profit in the final three months of last year is largely down to cost cuts. The company run by Forrest Li slashed sales and marketing expenses alone by $745 million, a whopping 62% drop. Whether that’s sustainable is unclear, though Li pointed out that the company had sold, closed or downsized a number of non-core operations and investments. It’s a welcome sign that upstart tech companies don’t always have to sacrifice profitability for growth.

☆ L&G looks overseas to fight Brexit discount
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That’s partly due to its concentration in the life sector – Wilson sold out of general insurance in 2020. L&G’s investment management unit has benefited from an international drive, with non-UK assets accounting for 43% of new money last year. On the life insurance side, some 39% of L&G’s gross premiums were booked overseas in 2022, with the U.S. a particular focus for Brexit-backing Wilson. The less L&G looks like a British company, the more attractive it will be to shareholders. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ New Carlsberg CEO’s task: stay ahead of Heineken
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Carlberg’s (CARLb.CO) new boss may struggle to maintain its newfound fizz. The $21 billion Danish brewer revealed on Tuesday that Chief Executive Cees 't Hart will retire after eight years at the helm. The company now trades at nearly 11 times its expected EBITDA for 2023 according to Refinitiv data, a premium to arch rival Heineken (HEIN.AS). In 2022, Heineken grew revenue in its Asia-Pacific market by 70%, while Carlsberg’s sales in the region rose by 22%. If the new boss can’t keep pace, Carlsberg shareholders will face a painful hangover.

It plans to offer SM shareholders 150,000 won ($115) per share. The artists are represented by SM Entertainment, which is currently in the midst of several shareholder disputes. Kakao and its Kakao Entertainment unit already currently hold 4.9% of SM, the company told CNN in a statement Tuesday. Kakao’s gambleKakao is pressing forward nonetheless, inviting SM shareholders to accept its tender offer, which ends on March 26. Its shares closed 3% lower in Seoul on Tuesday, while SM’s shares soared 15%.

☆ Kakao can end K-pop saga with near-$1 bln mic drop
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kakao and its entertainment arm are eyeing a 35% stake in SM via a tender offer worth $962 million. If Kakao succeeds, the company, which has the backing of SM's management, would become the label's top shareholder. Kakao Entertainment in January raised $930 million from investors including GIC in Singapore and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The envisioned partnership between Kakao, Kakao Entertainment and SM would cover global distribution, production and more for music and other content. Following Kakao's offer, SM Shares rallied 14% to 148,400 won ($114); they have nearly doubled since the start of the year.

☆ S.Korea court accepts injunction against Kakao purchase of SM shares
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, March 3 (Reuters) - A South Korean court accepted on Friday an injunction filed by SM Entertainment (041510.KQ) founder Lee Soo-man against the acquisition of SM shares by Kakao Corp (035720.KS), blocking its bid to own a 9.05% stake in the K-pop agency, Lee's lawyer said. HYBE has already secured a 15.8% stake in SM and is seeking to acquire more shares through a tender offer bid. SM's current management have called the takeover attempt hostile and has sought to team up with Kakao to pursue various businesses. SM and Kakao did not immediately reply to requests from Reuters for comment. Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; editing by John Stonestreet, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Worldwide boy-band sensation BTS may be on hiatus, but refreshing new financial acts threaten to upend the world of K-pop, and perhaps South Korea. The battle over 28-year-old SM Entertainment, the $2.3 billion force behind Girls' Generation and EXO, is at heart a family feud. It helps, too, that K-pop has turned into one of South Korea’s strongest exports, thanks largely to “Butter” and “Dynamite” singers BTS. "We oppose all aggressive outside mergers and acquisitions, including Hybe," SM said in a statement, according to Reuters. Separately, internet conglomerate Kakao said on Feb. 7 it would acquire a 9.05% stake in SM via 112 billion won of new shares and 105 billion won of convertible bonds.

Align Partners' stake in SM, a pioneer in K-pop behind acts like Girls' Generation and Red Velvet, is just 1% - but still worth tens of millions of dollars. HYBE hasn't disclosed whether it intends to buy more of SM after the current tender offer. Taken together, the 40% stake would cost HYBE about 1.137 trillion won ($884 million) under current plans - though SM shares traded above HYBE's tender offer price on Thursday. Align's Lee said this would become a proxy fight, with SM's current executives wooing shareholders with plans to improve SM's sales and profitability. ($1 = 1,284.9500 won)Reporting by Hyunsu Yim and Joyce Lee; Editing by Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Amazon's VC arm leads $20 mln funding at entertainment firm Superplastic
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Entertainment company Superplastic said on Wednesday it had raised $20 million in a funding round led by the venture capital arm of Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) as it looks to expand its universe of digital characters. The latest cash infusion, a Series A extension, takes Superplastic's total funding to $58 million, the company said. Other investors that participated in the funding round include Craft Ventures, Google Ventures, Galaxy Digital, Kering, Sony Japan, Scribble Ventures, Kakao, Animoca Brands, Day One Ventures and Betaworks. Superplastic sells toys, apparel and non-fungible tokens in collaboration with brands, including Gucci, Fortnite, Mercedes-Benz, Tommy Hilfiger and celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Post Malone and The Weeknd. Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi MajumdarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ BTS agency HYBE seeks to take over K-pop rival SM Entertainment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Heo Ran/File PhotoSEOUL, Feb 10 (Reuters) - South Korean entertainment company HYBE (352820.KS) said on Friday it will buy shares worth 423 billion won ($335 million) in rival SM Entertainment (041510.KQ), seeking management rights to strengthen its position in the K-pop industry. HYBE is the agency that manages K-pop mega band BTS. HYBE has also tendered an offer on Friday for SM shares held by minority shareholders, seeking to buy up to 25% of the rival agency with the intention of acquiring management rights. HYBE and SM Entertainment shares were up 6% and 16%, respectively, as of 11:05 a.m. (0205 GMT). Earlier this week, South Korean tech firm Kakao Corp (035720.KS) said it would acquire a 9.05% stake in SM Entertainment to pursue joint projects including global K-pop auditions.

☆ S.Korea's Kakao Entertainment secures $966 mln investment from sovereign wealth funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Largest overseas investment in Korean content firm, co saysBusiness includes K-Pop, video, online comics and novels"Recession-proof" nature of business likely a draw -analystsSEOUL, Jan 12 (Reuters) - South Korean tech conglomerate Kakao Corp (035720.KS) said on Thursday unit Kakao Entertainment secured a 1.2 trillion won ($966.27 million) investment from leading sovereign wealth funds. Kakao, however, did not name the sovereign wealth funds in its statement. Kakao Corp shares rose 1% in early morning trade, outperforming a 0.2% rise in the wider market (.KS11). Unlisted Kakao Entertainment has a business portfolio ranging from K-Pop - including artist management - to shows, movies, and online-targeted, comparatively low-cost content such as comics called webtoons and serial web novels. "Having secured funds, Kakao Entertainment may seek to strengthen its artist lineup that can better target overseas markets via M&A or other ways."

☆ China to import 45 foreign video games, grants multiple licenses to Tencent
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

China's video games regulator granted publishing licenses to 45 foreign games for release in the country including seven South Korean games, further lifting rigid curbs that have hammered the industry for 18 months. South Korean gaming stocks, including Netmarble, NCSOFT, Krafton, Kakao Games and Devsisters jumped between 2% and over 17% in morning trade on Thursday, a day after Chinese authorities granted publishing licenses. Among the imported online games approved by the National Press and Publication Administration are five to be published by Tencent Holdings such as "Pokémon Unite" by Nintendo and "Valorant" by Riot Games, according to a list the regulator released. The regulator also approved 84 domestic games for the month of December, according to a separate list released on Wednesday. The approval of imported games effectively marks the end of Beijing's crackdown on the video games industry which began last August when regulators suspended the game approval process.

☆ China to import 45 foreign video games, grants multiple licences to Tencent
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, Dec 29 (Reuters) - China's video games regulator granted publishing licences to 45 foreign games for release in the country，including seven South Korean games, further lifting rigid curbs that have hammered the industry for 18 months. The approval of imported games effectively marks the end of Beijing's crackdown on the video games industry which began last August when regulators suspended the game approval process. Unlike in most other countries, video games need approval from regulators before release in China, the world's largest gaming market. Other imported games approved include CD Projekt's (CDR.WA) "Gwent: The Witcher Card Game" and Klei Entertainment's "Don't Starve". China approved 76 imported games in 2021 and 456 in 2017.

☆ South Korea's most popular social media app, used by about 90% of the country's population, is having a very bad week, and one of its CEOs just resigned
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Nidhi Pandurangi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The co-CEO of South Korea's most popular messaging and social-media app Kakao resigned on Wednesday. On Saturday, a fire at a data center that houses Kakao's servers locked millions of users out of the app. KakaoTalk has 47 million active accounts in South Korea, which means 90% of the population uses the app. On Saturday, a fire was discovered at a data center that houses Kakao's servers, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing. South Korea's population was around 51.8 million people in 2021, which means over 90% of its citizens have a Kakao account.

☆ S.Korean chat app Kakao's co-CEO steps down after widespread outage
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Kakao Corp's (035720.KS) co-CEO Namkoong Whon has stepped down, the company said on Wednesday, after an outage that shut down South Korea's largest mobile chat app and other services, triggering widespread backlash from authorities and the public. The resignation, effective Wednesday, leaves co-CEO Hong Euntaek as sole CEO. The company apologised for the outage that started on Saturday due to a fire at a data centre run by SK C&C (034730.KS) near Seoul. More than 500 small businesses complained about lost sales due to the Kakao outage, lobby group Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise said. ($1 = 1,415.6400 won)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kakao’s co-CEO steps down after widespread outage at South Korea’s top chat app
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Kakao Corp’s co-CEO Namkoong Whon has stepped down, the company said on Wednesday, after an outage that shut down South Korea’s largest mobile chat app and other services, triggering widespread backlash from authorities and the public. The company apologized for the outage that started on Saturday due to a fire at a data center run by SK C&C near Seoul. KakaoTalk, launched in 2010, has more than 47 million active accounts in South Korea, making it one of the most ubiquitous apps in the country of 51.6 million. “We’ll build our own infrastructure including data centers to ensure our services will not be affected by similar incidents going forward,” Kakao said in a statement. More than 500 small businesses complained about lost sales due to the Kakao outage, lobby group Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise said.

☆ Kakao co-CEO resigns after mass outage locked 53 million users out
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A top executive at Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, will step down. His resignation comes after a fire at a data center led to a mass outage over the weekend and disrupted services for its messenger's 53 million users worldwide. Kakao reported 47.5 million monthly active users in Korea during the second quarter. That's more than 90% of South Korea's population of 51.74 million people, as of Nov. 1, 2021. Hong Eun-taek, who led the company alongside Namkoong as co-CEO, will remain the sole head of the company, according to a company filing.

☆ Analyst says Kakao has 'poor risk management'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAnalyst says Kakao has 'poor risk management'Seungjoo Ro of CLSA discusses the problems faced by South Korean messaging app Kakao after a data center outage that happened over the weekend.

☆ Ubiquitous South Korea App Goes Offline, Raising Fresh Concerns Over Tech Giants
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Jiyoung Sohn | Timothy W. Martin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL— Kakao South Korea’s so-called everything app, dropped out of service over the weekend, spurring widespread disruption in life and business that exposed the vulnerabilities created should an ubiquitous tech giant be forced offline. Kakao’s main services—messaging to ride hailing to mobile payments—suffered outages on Saturday, following a fire at a facility housing a large proportion of the company’s data servers. Not all of the company’s offerings had been restored as of Monday.

Kakao shares plunged as much as 9.5% on Monday to their lowest since May 2020, wiping out 2 trillion won ($1.39 billion) in market capitalisation at one point, while shares in affiliates KakaoPay (377300.KS) and KakaoBank (323410.KS) lost more than 8% before paring losses. South Korea's technology ministry is probing whether the outage violated any laws while the communications regulator is reviewing the matter, including questions of user compensation, officials said on Sunday. An initial probe on Sunday found electrical issues around battery racks in third basement floor of the data centre, which is operated by SK C&C (034730.KS), may have caused the fire. REPUTATIONAL HITThe Kakao messaging application and the Kakao T taxi booking application are seen on a mobile phone in this illustration photo March 13, 2018. It said on Monday it would discuss compensation with data centre operator SK C&C for losses it and its key units have sustained.

☆ Kakao shares slump as outage sparks calls for regulatory scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Kakao shares plunged more than 9% on Monday to their lowest since May 2020, while shares in Kakao affiliates KakaoPay (377300.KS) and KakaoBank (323410.KS) also plunged more than 8% in morning trade. Police and the National Forensic Service are conducting a second investigation on Monday at the data centre, which is operated by SK C&C (034730.KS). After an initial probe on Sunday, police said electrical issues around battery racks in third basement floor of the data centre may have caused the fire. It said in a regulatory filing on Monday that after it normalises services, it will discuss compensation with data centre operator SK C&C for losses sustained by Kakao and its key units. A Kakao spokesperson declined to provide the total number of servers it uses, citing security concerns.

☆ Kakao shares slump after widespread service outage
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Shares in South Korea's Kakao Corp (035720.KS) plunged more than 9% on Monday after a fire at a data centre south of Seoul damaged servers on the weekend, causing an extensive service outage in the country's main chat app. President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Monday that Kakao's services are "like a fundamental national telecommunications network as far as the public is concerned," and follow-up measures over the service outage will be pursued. Kakao shares fell to its lowest since May 2020, while shares in Kakao affiliates KakaoPay (377300.KS) and KakaoBank (323410.KS) also plunged more than 8% in morning trade. A Kakao spokesperson told Reuters on Monday services such as messaging have been restored, but miscellaneous services are still being restored. Kakao said on Monday the financial effects of a widespread service outage were expected to be limited on Kakao and its key units.

☆ South Korea's Kakao and Naver shares fall after fire disrupts services
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSouth Korea's Kakao and Naver shares fall after fire disrupts servicesShares of Kakao's franchises — Kakao Pay, Kakao Bank and Kakao Games — all fell by more than 7% in Asia's morning session. CNBC's Chery Kang reports.

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