After disrupting a Trump rally, raising millions of dollars for Black Lives Matter, and drawing the ire of the Chilean government, Korean pop music (K-pop) fans appear to be deploying their organizing and fundraising powers in the stock market.
On Monday, Big Hit Entertainment, the management label behind the K-pop supergroup BTS, said in a regulatory filing that its October IPO will be priced at the top end of its set range. The offering will be priced at 135,000 South Korean won ($115), which is the upper limit of the 105,000 won ($89) to 135,000 won ($115) price range the company proposed earlier this month.
Big Hit will be offering roughly 7.1 million new shares in the highly anticipated debut, which Big Hit says may raise the company as much as $820 million. Big Hit’s IPO is set to be South Korea’s largest stock offering in the past three years, and it may help continue a hot streak for entertainment firms debuting on South Korea’s exchange.
In early September, shares for computer game publisher Kakao Games surged to 30% higher than its initial offering price after it started trading, though its shares have since dropped.
The news about Big Hit Entertainment’s offering price appeared to encourage investors on Monday, as stocks for listed South Korean record labels and entertainment companies made strong gains. Record label YG Entertainment’s stock rose 11.98%, while the JYP Entertainment label jumped 9.94%, and entertainment company SM Entertainment clicked up 6.69%.
Big Hit Entertainment’s expected success reflects the growing global reach of BTS and South Korean pop music, but for many retail investors getting a piece of the action isn’t just about betting on its corporate performance.
Members of the ARMY, the self-ascribed title for BTS fans, told Reuters last week that buying stock in Big Hit Entertainment was a sign of their devotion to the group.
“I don’t know about stock valuations,” Kim Seo-hyeon told Reuters. The 12-year-old BTS fan in Seoul had asked her parents to buy Big Hit Entertainment stock. “I know my oppas [BTS band members] are rich but I hope me buying shares make them even richer, so that they can buy something nice to wear, that would make me happy.”
One fan even said that he would be taking out a personal loan in order to bid for stock in the company.
Upon Big Hit Entertainment’s October debut, the ARMY seems poised to move markets.
