Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Korean content production firms to debut on Nasdaq via SPAC merger
A scene from “A Taxi Driver,” a Korean film starring Song Kang-ho. The film garnered over 10 million viewers at theaters after its release in August 2017. Newsis
By Anna J. Park
SPAC merger between Global Star and K Enter Holdings expected to attract U.S. investors
By Anna J. Park
Seven Korean content production companies, including The Lamp, which produced one of Korea's highest-grossing films, “A Taxi Driver,” are set to make their U.S. stock market debuts on the Nasdaq via a SPAC merger as early as the fourth quarter of this year, according to the companies involved. This is the first time for Korean content production companies to be listed on the U.S. stock market.
A SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company, is a publicly traded shell company serving as a vehicle for a private business to go public.
The IPO process will be the result of a merger with Global Star, a SPAC listed on the Nasdaq. A public listing via a SPAC merger such as this usually takes less time than a traditional IPO process. Companies choose to use this path in order to have more certainty in raising capital.
According to the companies, Global Star recently signed a definitive agreement with K Enter Holdings late last week, agreeing to merge with the Korean entertainment entity at a valuation of 783 billion won ($610 million). K Enter is a U.S.-based holding company, which recently signed contracts with the seven Korean content production companies to acquire them as subsidiaries.
A promotional image of “Space Sweepers” starring Kim Tae-ri, second from left, and Song Joong-ki, third from left / Courtesy of Netflix
Besides The Lamp, Bidangil Pictures, which produced the megahit “Space Sweepers,” “The Chaser” and “A-Werewolf-Boy,” as well as Apeita Production, which produced “Confession of Murder,” are included among the affiliates of the holding company.
Global Star and K Enter Holdings plan to complete their SPAC merger process by the end of the fourth quarter this year, after obtaining the approval of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Once the merger is completed, the name of the company will change to K Wave Media.
Lee Young-jae, CEO of K Enter Holdings, vowed to spearhead the future path of Korea's entertainment business.
“We plan to lead the future of the entertainment industry. By combining our resources and expertise, the company plans to offer superior entertainment experiences of Korea to the world,” Lee was quoted as saying by local media.
After the merger process is completed, the company plans to maximize its intellectual property (IP) assets through new business opportunities. The production subsidiaries of K Enter Holdings particularly aspire to hold more initiatives and bargaining power against global over-the-top (OTT) media platforms.
“The seven production companies share an understanding that they should no longer be a simple supplier of original IP to global OTTs. Rather, they hope to take more of a lead in the process,” Choi Pyeung-ho, chairman of K Enter Holdings, said. Choi previously led the film business at CJ Entertainment and Media (CJ ENM). He was also a founding member of CJ CGV, a major multiplex chain.
Meanwhile, Hanryu Holdings (HRYU), a Korean media tech company which operates fandom platform businesses, also plans to go public on the Nasdaq in the near future. The firm submitted a registration statement to the U.S. SEC earlier this year, yet the listing process is taking longer than expected.