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CJ ENM, one of the leading entertainment companies in South Korea, is investing ₩100 billion or around $82.3 million in the media unit of KT Corp., KT Studio Genie. The company is aiming to build ties for media content so it can advance globally.
According to The Korea Herald, the CJ ENM’s investment in KT Studio Genie was revealed on Monday, March 21, through business filing. The two companies were said to have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the same day of the filing; thus, the deadline for the acquisition has been set to 90 days after the announcement.
With the money that CJ ENM is putting in, it will become KT Studio Genie’s shareholder with about a 10% stake. The two will also engage in more collaborations in the future for the digital music streaming business, and they are expected to discuss this soon.
They will also be forming a team and set up a committee of executives to oversee the venture. No other details were shared about the acquisition deal.
In any case, the agreement will give CJ ENM early distribution rights to KT Studio Genie’s original content. These are the creations that can be streamed or broadcast on the entertainment company’s TV channels, such as OCN, tvN, and Tving streaming platform.
Korea Joongang Daily reported that KT Studio Genie will also co-produce content with CJ ENM contingent on the KT’s media arm’s intellectual property. The studio has a wide range of media content for production and distribution. Some of its businesses include web novels, webtoons, a satellite TV network, and music streaming services.
Meanwhile, the deal is expected to help CJ ENM bring more content worldwide, and for KT Studio Genie, the new partnership will help it strengthen and widen its content distribution channels by making use of CJ ENM’s vast network.
“The cooperation with KT, a leading media platform operator, will be a big boost to CJ’s efforts to become a global entertainment company,” The Korea Economic Daily quoted Kang Ho Sung, CJ ENM’s chief executive officer, as saying after the signing of MOU with KT Group’s transformation division head, Yoon Kyung Lim on Monday.
