South Korea-based music and media company YG Entertainment raised $85m on Friday from online ticketing service provider Weiying Technology and internet company Tencent as a precursor to expanding in China.
Founded in 1996, YG operates a record label that releases Korean pop – also known as K-pop – as well as a talent agency, concert promotion agency, music publishing firm, and clothing and cosmetics brands.
Weiying is investing $55m and will take an 8.2% share of YG, while Tencent is paying $30m for a 4.5% stake. Tencent, which has distributed YG’s music in China since late 2014, is also an investor in Weiying, which has raised more than $1bn since it was founded in 2014.
YG stated in a press release: “Our company has logged over a 30% increase in sales over the past decade. In maintaining such growth, broadening our business in China is important.
“We are going to build a joint venture with China in the future and put more effort into increasing activities by YG-managed singers and actors in the country, discover and cultivate Chinese artists, and build the infrastructure for advancing into the Chinese performing arts market.”
The funding follows an $80m investment in YG by L Capital Asia, the private equity arm of luxury goods holding company LVMH, in 2014.