Bugs expanding to entertainment agency biz

By Yoon Sung-won

Bugs will acquire HOW Entertainment, aiming at developing into an integrated entertainment content business, the company said Wednesday.

The board of directors of Bugs held a meeting, Tuesday, to decide upon an 11 billion won investment in acquiring a 70 percent share of HOW Entertainment, according to NHN Entertainment, which owns Bugs as a subsidiary. The acquisition is scheduled to be completed by Sept. 26.

“We will establish an integrated system with HOW Entertainment to begin joint marketing activities, aiming at creating quality K-pop content that will boost the popularity of hallyu,” Bugs said in a statement.

Bugs stressed that the acquisition is to diversify its business portfolio and create synergy by entering the entertainment management sector. The nation’s fourth-largest music streaming service provider said it will establish the vertical integration of businesses from music content production, distribution and streaming services alongside HOW Entertainment.

Established in Sept. 2015, HOW Entertainment provides management services for celebrities including singer Hwang Chi-yeol, who has recently been drawing popularity in China.

Aiming at boosting its presence in the domestic music streaming market, Bugs has made aggressive moves. On Aug. 12, the company acquired a 53.9 percent share of music-providing company Groovers to tap into its massive digital music database.

The move came as global IT giants are speeding up their entrance into the Korean music content market. Apple started to provide Apple Music in Korea earlier this month while YouTube is planning to begin “YouTube Red” here soon.

According to data by mobile service market research agency WiseApp, Bugs has 630,000 active users as of the second week of August, following MelOn’s 2.91 million, Genie Music’s 960,000 and Naver Music’s 660,000.

NHN Entertainment acquired Bugs from Neowiz in August last year.