BTS become multi-millionaires in minutes as shares explode
South Korean boy band BTS is one of the biggest musical acts in the world, and they’re now also making sweet music on the South Korean stock market.
Shares in BTS’ management company Big Hit Entertainment more than doubled their Initial Public Offering price upon their debut on Thursday, making each member of the septet a multi-millionaire and the chief executive a billionaire.
The IPO price was set at 135,000 won (AUD$166) in September but shares opened at 270,000 Korean won before surging higher after the opening bell. They reached as high as 351,000 won, on a day that the Kospi index fell 0.3 per cent.
Big Hit Entertainment is now worth 10 trillion won (AUD$12.3 billion), placing it within reach of the top 10 South Korean stock market debuts of all time.
This is despite reports that the band members will face mandatory military service, despite fans and politicians calling for an exemption.
The BTS magic
Investors, however, seem unperturbed by pending military requirements, choosing instead to bet on the band’s continued success.
BTS has sold out Wembley Stadium and in August became the first band to have a video amass more than 100 million views in a day, with their new English-language song Dynamite.
The band members themselves were each given more than 68,000 shares in Big Hit Entertainment.
Big Hit Entertainment made 87.7 per cent of its revenue from BTS in the first half of 2020.
It wasn’t just professional investors snapping up a stake in the band, with die-hard fans also forking out for the chance to own part of the band.
"Definitely I am not selling once I get one. This is for eternity. I want to show my heart by having that one stock," super-fan Rei explained in the days before the IPO.
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