HYBE Chair Bang Si-hyuk will donate part of his HYBE shares that he owns.
According to the electronic disclosure system on the 12th, Bang plans to donate 711,534 common shares. That amounts to about 1.65% of all outstanding shares. Based on the closing price that day, it is worth about 270 billion won. The donation period runs from Feb. 16 to April 13.
This transaction is a free donation, not a sale, and the recipient of the shares is listed as HYBE and one other person. Once the donation is completed, Bang's HYBE equity stake will fall to 28.90% from 30.55%, but the status as the largest shareholder will be maintained.
HYBE said in a separate filing that it will receive 546,120 common shares from Bang for free and acquire them as treasury shares. HYBE will secure the shares as treasury shares without separate expenditure.
The remaining 165,414 shares are set to be donated to one person other than HYBE.
A HYBE official said, "Bang Si-hyuk, chair of HYBE, decided to donate part of the shares he personally holds to the company to fund performance-based compensation for executives and employees."