On the 9th, Kakao issued a statement regarding rumors of plans to sell Kakao Entertainment, saying, "While various options are being considered with shareholders, there have been no confirmed matters as of yet."
Kakao is reported to be in discussions with major shareholders to sell its subsidiary, Kakao Entertainment, which is engaged in the content business. According to the IT industry, Kakao has sent letters to major shareholders of Kakao Entertainment, including Anchor Equity Partners, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), to express its intent for the sale of management rights. The sale price being discussed is reportedly 11 trillion won.
Kakao is currently the largest shareholder, holding 66.03% of Kakao Entertainment's equity. Anchor Equity Partners holds approximately 12.42% of the equity, while GIC and PIF own 5.1% each. Kakao Entertainment received around 1.2 trillion won in investment from PIF and GIC in 2023.
Kakao has been pursuing an initial public offering (IPO) for Kakao Entertainment since 2019 but had to suspend it due to criticisms of "split listing." It is also reported that discussions were held regarding a listing in the U.S. securities market, but this option has been regarded as difficult internally recently, leading to a thorough examination of the sale. The industry believes that the aftermath of last year’s competition for management control between HYBE and SM Entertainment, which involved the founder Beom-soo Kim and other key executives being investigated or imprisoned, has also impacted this sale.
Kakao announced that it plans to issue a clarification notice regarding the progress of the Kakao Entertainment sale within a month, whether or not the details are confirmed.