Kakao to acquire Korean music streaming operator

Seoul

CHAT app operator Kakao Corp said on Monday that it will buy control of South Korea's top music streaming service provider Loen Entertainment Inc for 1.9 trillion won (S$2.3 billion), in another push to find new revenue streams.

Kakao said that it would buy a 76.4 per cent stake in Loen, which owns music streaming service MelOn as well as a talent agency with K-Pop artists such as IU, partly by issuing 754 billion won worth of new shares to top Loen shareholders Affinity Equity Partners and SK Planet Co Ltd.