It’s expected that the boys of BTS are already making millions from their hit releases and endorsements. But this month, they’re officially becoming multi-millionaires as their label, Big Hit Entertainment, goes public.
The Seoul-based music agency founded and led by music producer Bang Sihyuk is said to be at a $4 billion market value after offering about 7.1 million new shares as an initial public offering (IPO). The estimated price for each share is between 105,000 to 135,000 won, or approximately $90 to $116.
This is South Korea’s largest IPO in three years.
According to the BBC, it took just hours for underwriters to find investors interested in buying the stock, and the demand is 1,000 times higher than what’s available. Fans of the group are also expected to bid for shares.
After the IPO on October 15, Bang, Big Hit’s CEO who owns 43% of the company’s shares, is set to become a billionaire and to rank up as the 14th-richest stockholder in South Korea.
The BTS boys, on the other hand, were given 68,385 shares each last month by Bang, which means every member will be about $8 million richer on the company’s first day of listing.
This milestone comes just a few weeks after BTS achieved its first-ever No. 1 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with the full-English song “Dynamite”, making them the first-ever South Korean act to do so.
ADVT