SM stock price surpass KRW 120,000 during after-hours trading. This price is HYBE’s bought price to Lee Soo Man and the one they are offering to minority shareholders. Align Partners Asset Management, an activist fund, has been critical of SM governance and has also said HYBE’s offering price of KRW 120,000 was too low. So they are currently right. Of course shareholders want the price high so they can sell their shares for more money.
It was revealed that CJ ENM is considering entering the bidding war to acquire SM along with Kakao, which most likely drove up the price past KRW 120,000. CJ ENM has denied this.
Kakao may make a counter-offer against HYBE’s offer. However, Kakao has so far maintained that it is not involved in the management disputes and is only interested in business cooperation. If Kakao were to become involved in the management rights dispute, it could be disadvantageous for their case of injunction, ie court order to void Kakao’s bid, filed by Lee Soo-man.
If HYBE fails to get its 25% stake through the tender offer, HYBE could increase their offering price. Then the shareholders get what they want, more money.
Overall, the situation at SM Entertainment remains uncertain, and it will be interesting to see how things develop in the coming months.
