Hybe
Hybe Co., Ltd., commonly known as simply Hybe, is a South Korean multinational entertainment company established in 2005 by Bang Si-hyuk as Big Hit Entertainment Co., Ltd.
The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production company, and music publishing house. It has multiple subsidiaries, including Big Hit Music, Belift Lab, Source Music, Pledis Entertainment, KOZ Entertainment, and ADOR, collectively known as Hybe Labels.
History
2005–2021: Big Hit Entertainment Co., Ltd.
Big Hit Entertainment was founded on February 1, 2005, and signed the vocal trio 8Eight in 2007. In 2010, the company signed a contract with JYP Entertainment to jointly manage the boy group 2AM. That year, Bang Si-hyuk signed RM as the first member of BTS and launched nationwide auditions to recruit other members for the group. BTS made their debut under Big Hit on June 13, 2013.In 2012, the company signed Lim Jeong-hee, and formed the girl group Glam as a collaboration with Source Music. The group was active until 2014, when it was disbanded due to legal actions against one of its members Kim Da-hee. Kim was sentenced to prison after being found guilty of blackmailing actor Lee Byung-hun.
Following the end of the joint contract between Big Hit and JYP in April 2014, three members of 2AM returned to JYP. Lee Chang-min remained with Big Hit to continue with his solo career and as part of the duo Homme. 8Eight disbanded later that year, after Baek Chan and Joo Hee's contracts with Big Hit ended.
In May 2015, Lim parted ways with the agency, following the expiration of her three-year contract, and Signal Entertainment Group, a KOSDAQ-listed company specializing in artist management and television production, acquired stakes in Big Hit through a KR₩6 billion convertible bond. In early 2016, Big Hit ended their stake relationship with Signal and made a full settlement of the bonds.
In February 2018, Homme disbanded after member Changmin's contract ended. He left the company to start his own agency, while Lee Hyun continued on as a solo artist. In August, Big Hit and CJ ENM released information stating plans to create a joint entertainment agency, with ownership split 52% to the latter and 48% to the former. Filed under the name Belift Lab, the agency debuted its first boy group Enhypen in November 2020. In October, BTS renewed and extended their contract with the agency for seven more years. Big Hit was voted Best Investment Company of the Year at the 2018 Korea VC Awards in December.
Big Hit debuted its second male group, Tomorrow X Together, in March 2019. Also that month, former CBO Lenzo Yoon was appointed co-CEO alongside Bang. Yoon would focus on the business components of the company, while Bang's focus would be on creative production. In July 2019, the company acquired Source Music, and in August, the video game firm Superb. Thanks to the Weverse and Weverse Shop apps developed by its subsidiary beNX, Big Hit was named the fourth most innovative company of 2020 worldwide by Fast Company.
In May 2020, Big Hit became the majority shareholder of Pledis Entertainment. The label would retain its independence; however, its artists would now receive greater financial support and global promotions. The Fair Trade Commission approved the acquisition in October. Big Hit acquired KOZ Entertainment, a record label founded by rapper Zico, the following month.
In January 2021, news media reported that Big Hit and beNX had invested a combined ₩70 billion in YG Plus, acquiring a 17.9% stake in the company in a merchandising and distribution deal that would see YG Plus' artists join the Weverse social media and shop platforms. Naver Corporation later invested ₩354.8 billion in beNX, acquiring 49% of the subsidiary. In return, it transferred its V Live video streaming service to the latter for the development of a new integrated fan community platform. BeNX was eventually renamed Weverse Company. The merger was approved by the KFTC in May. On February 17, Big Hit and Universal Music Group announced a strategic partnership between the two companies to collaborate on various music and technology-related endeavors. At the forefront of the partnership was a joint venture between Big Hit and Geffen Records, a UMG flagship label, that will debut a global boy group through a new, Los Angeles-based label following a global audition program set to air in 2022. Big Hit would be responsible for selecting and training the artists, while UMG would be in charge of music production, global distribution, and marketing. Additionally, other UMG artists were set to join Weverse, already home to Gracie Abrams, New Hope Club, and Alexander 23. On February 25, Big Hit announced a ₩4 billion investment in a Korea-based AI company, Supertone, that specializes in creating hyper-realistic voices using technology.
2021–present: Hybe, expansions, and investigations
Big Hit announced its rebranding into an entertainment lifestyle platform company under the name Hybe in March 2021. The company underwent a complete organizational restructuring, which also saw the recording and management arm of Big Hit Entertainment spun off into an independent label named Big Hit Music under Hybe's new Labels division. The renaming was approved at a shareholders meeting on March 30. The company relocated to its new headquarters in the Yongsan Trade Center in Yongsan District on March 22, and the rebrand went into effect on March 31. Hybe acquired Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings and all its properties, including SB Projects and Big Machine Label Group, through its subsidiary Hybe America in April. The corporation invested $950 million into the America branch to finance the buyout; $1.05 billion was paid to Ithaca shareholders and bondholders. BH Odyssey Merger Sub, a newly created subsidiary of Hybe America, facilitated the acquisition, and was later dissolved after the deal's finalization. The Carlyle Group, a minority shareholder and original investor, sold its stake in Ithaca as part of the deal. Braun joined Hybe's board, while Scott Borchetta retained his position as CEO of Big Machine Label Group. That same month, Time named Hybe one of the "100 Most Influential Companies of 2021", under the "Pioneers" section.Japanese streaming platform Showroom announced a business and capital partnership with Hybe in May 2021 to improve its domestic services and expand access to Japanese content in South Korea, the United States, and globally. Hybe was added to the MSCI Korea index on May 12, and the index updated on May 28. Following a second organizational restructuring, Bang resigned as CEO on July 1 to return his focus to music production. He was replaced by Jiwon Park but retained his position as chairman of the board of directors. In November, Hybe entered into an equity-based partnership with Korean fintech company Dunamu to develop a joint venture NFT business for the creation of digital assets. It acquired a 2.6% stake in the company for ₩500 billion, while Dunamu received a 5.6% stake in Hybe for ₩700 billion. On November 11, Hybe won a Red Dot Design Award in the Brands & Communication Design category at the 2021 Red Dot Design Awards for its new corporate identity design. The establishment of a new music label, ADOR, was announced on November 12. Chief brand officer Min Hee-jin was appointed as its president and tasked with overseeing the management of the label's first girl group, later announced as NewJeans, which debuted in July 2022.
In January 2022, Hybe published a series of "original stories" featuring boy groups BTS, Enhypen, and Tomorrow X Together in collaboration with Webtoon and Wattpad as part of a planned IP expansion. The BTS comic alone earned over 15 million views within two days of release, becoming the fastest title in Webtoon's history to reach that milestone. In March, Fast Company named Hybe the 11th most innovative company of the year globally on its annual top-50 list—ranking first in the Media category—while Time included Hybe on its 100 Most Influential Companies list for a second consecutive year. The company topped the "Leaders" category and was dubbed "The Pop Powerhouse" by the outlet for its acquisitions, expansion into the digital frontier, and transformative strides in the music industry during the pandemic era. The following month, Hybe won an iF Product Design Award for "Company Branding" in the Communication category at the International Forum Design Awards held in Germany. Hybe signed a multi-year deal with The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific in July 2022 to provide content showcasing the Korean music and entertainment industries to a global market. Five programs will be available worldwide on Disney+ and other Disney streaming platforms—a 4K cinematic film of BTS' Permission to Dance on Stage concert in Los Angeles; In the Soop: Friendcation; and BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star, a docuseries of BTS' history from debut to present set to premiere in 2023. Additional content featuring other Hybe artists will also be released.
Hybe became the largest shareholder of SM Entertainment in February 2023, after it acquired founder Lee Soo-man's 14.8% stake in the company for approximately ₩422.8 billion. The company subsequently acquired Galaxia SM's 1% stake on March 3. On March 12, Hybe announced that they no longer planned to own the majority stakes of SM Entertainment, said that the bidding war with Kakao could "damage shareholder value." On March 24, Hybe announced that it will sell its entire stake in SM Entertainment to Kakao by accepting its tender offer launched by Kakao. However, on March 28, Hybe instead sold half of its stakes in SM to Kakao, leaving it only for 8.81%. On May 27, 2025, Hybe announced it would sell all of its shares in SM Entertainment to Tencent Music.
On May 23, 2023, Hybe signed a music distribution deal with Chinese streaming platform, Tencent Music.
On August 10, 2023, Hybe announced its acquisition of the remaining 51.5% stake from CJ ENM in Belift Lab, making it as a wholly owned subsidiary.
In November 2023, Hybe confirmed the establishment of its Latin music division, Hybe Latin America, based in Mexico City, Los Angeles, and Miami.
On August 27, 2024, Min was removed from her role as president of ADOR but remained on the company's board of directors and continued producing for NewJeans. Ju Young Kim, Hybe's Chief Human Resources Officer and a member of the board, assumed the position of ADOR's president. Min objected this decision, describing her as a "grave violation of the shareholders' agreement."
In December 2024, it was revealed that the Financial Supervisory Service was investigating whether Chairman Bang Si-hyuk had entered into secret shareholder agreements with STIC Investments, Estone Equity Partners, and New Main Equity without informing other shareholders or the financial regulator. These agreements allegedly allowed him to financially benefit misleading other shareholders into believing that Hybe would not pursue an IPO. On May 28, 2025, the FSS referred Bang Si-hyuk to the prosecution after concluding that the investigation met the threshold for charges. The following day, searched Hybe's headquarters connection with allegations of insider trading by a former employee who allegedly used confidential information to profit from acquiring shares in YG Plus, based on prior knowledge of Hybe's planned investment in the company in January 2021.
On May 28, 2025, Hybe announced the sale of Big Machine Rock to Gebbia Media, followed the next day by the announcement of establishing a Chinese subsidiary.
On July 1, Hybe announced plans to expand its operations into India, with the subsidiary establish on September 23. In the same month, one of Hybe's largest shareholders, Netmarble considered issuing approximately ₩2,500 billion in exchangeable bonds, using part of its stake in Hybe as collateral to secure liquidity for repaying loans incurred during its acquisition of the U.S. social casino game company SpinX. While a formal underwriting agreement had not yet been signed, NH Investment & Securities emerged as the likely arranger, and NH Hedge Asset Management was reportedly forming a project fund with institutional investors to support the deal. Netmarble has previously utilized its Hybe holdings for financing, including a 2024 price return swap involving 2.6% equity and a 2023 block trade of approximately 6% of its shares. However, by August, Netmarble abandoned its plan, a decision attributed to the volatility and sharp decline in Hybe's stock price caused by an "owner risk" scandal involving Hybe's founder and Chairman Bang Si‑hyuk. The funding was intended to pay down debt from Netmarble's acquisition of SpinX, which is now reduced to mid‑₩200 billion.
On August 20, Mirae Asset Securities was preparing to sell the remaining portion of Hybe convertible bonds worth approximately 1 trillion KRW, capitalizing on the recent surge in Hybe's stock price, which had risen to around 280,000 KRW—well above the CB conversion price of 218,000 KRW. The CBs, issued in October 2024 as zero-coupon, zero-interest bonds, were initially underwritten mainly by Mirae Asset, but some remained unsold due to concerns over the deal's structure and perceived favoritism. With Hybe's stock boosted by positive market sentiment, including anticipation of BTS's return and the easing of Chinese content restrictions, Mirae Asset sees a lucrative opportunity to offload the remaining CBs at a premium, maximizing returns through both underwriting fees and capital gains. The same day, Hybe subsidiary ADOR appointed Lee Do-kyung as its new president. This leadership change follows the dismissal of former president Min Hee-jin in 2024 and a period of interim leadership under Kim Joo-young, who focused on stabilizing the company and restructuring operations. With that process complete, Hybe determined that Lee—who has been at Hybe since 2019 and has experience in strategic planning and IP projects—was the right person to lead ADOR into its next phase.
On December 15, Hybe announced a new global management partnership with Brandon Hixon and Colin Gayle, the co-managers of South African artist Tyla, to develop Africa-based artists for international markets.