Walmart Stock Falls Despite Strong Q1 Revenue Beat and E-Commerce Growth 
Australia Regulator Flags Private Credit Risks Amid Global Market Uncertainty 
Asian Stocks Rally as Nvidia Earnings Boost Tech Shares, Samsung Jumps on Wage Deal 
Intuit Raises Full-Year Forecast After Strong Q3 Earnings Despite Stock Drop 
Oil Tankers Exit Strait of Hormuz as Trump Signals Possible Iran Deal 
Goldman Sachs to Pay $500M in 1MDB Shareholder Fraud Settlement 
Japan Airlines Signs 10-Year Boeing 787 Maintenance Deal With GE Aerospace 
Nvidia Beats Earnings Expectations as AI Demand Drives Record Growth 
Iran-U.S. Talks Continue as Strait of Hormuz and Uranium Dispute Stall Peace Efforts 
SoftBank Shares Surge as OpenAI IPO Buzz and SB Energy Filing Boost AI Optimism 
Moody’s Downgrades Mexico Credit Rating Amid Rising Debt and Fiscal Pressure 
Google Expands AI Partnership With Singapore Government 
ECB Warns Euro Zone Inflation Will Keep Rising Despite Strait of Hormuz Reopening 
Cuba needs a long-term solution to its energy crisis 
Gold Prices Slip as Iran Conflict and Fed Rate Hike Fears Weigh on Market Sentiment 
SpaceX Eyes AI Computing Expansion Ahead of Historic IPO 
Blackstone and Google Launch AI Cloud Venture, Pressuring CoreWeave and Nebius Shares 
Kakao is considered one of the strongest candidates to acquire stakes in SM Entertainment. The entertainment unit of the internet company is hoping to make use of the talent agency's intellectual property (IP) to take on its staunch rival, Naver.
According to The Korea Times, in the event that Kakao Entertainment is able to buy shares in SM Entertainment, it will be able to feature the company's big Kpop talents, including Super Junior, EXO, aespa, NCT, and more in its original content lineup. This will eventually allow Kakao to embark on the global OTT business.
The Seoul-based talent agency, which is also home to TVXQ, Girls Generation, Shinee, and Red Velvet, also runs Dear U, an information technology unit that has a goal of becoming a leader in the metaverse platform service globally. Kakao thinks that Dunamu, its crypto exchange affiliate, can form a synergy with Dear U in the NFT (non-fungible token) business.
Kakao and SM Entertainment have previously confirmed that they are in talks for a business partnership and investment in shares, but nothing has been finalized yet. There is no solid decision with any kind of business as of this time.
An official from Kakao said, "We are reviewing various ways to collaborate with SM Entertainment, but no specific details have been confirmed."
It was learned that CJ ENM is also interested in the purchase of shares in SME, and it has also entered talks about this last year. However, the companies failed to negotiate the sell-off price, and Kakao took over CJ ENM's place in the list of candidates.
The current sell-off price for SME was estimated to be between ₩600 billion or around $491.2 million and ₩1 trillion or $810 million. The stake for sale is said to be owned by the company's founder, Lee Soo Man, and consists of an 18.72% share and management rights.
Meanwhile, The Korea Economic Daily reported that Kakao Entertainment and SME are already in the final stages of talks for the acquisition of a controlling stake in the talent agency. It was predicted that the sale will proceed because Kakao accepted most of SM's requests.
