From left, Lisa, Rose, Jisoo and Jennie from K-pop group BLACKPINK pose with their Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire medals at Buckingham Palace in London, Nov. 22. Reuters-Yonhap
IP subsidiary YG PLUS stock price also surges
By Anna J. Park
Ending a months-long downward trend, the stock price of YG Entertainment soared again by 25.63 percent in a single trading session on Wednesday over the firm’s success in renewing its contract with BLACKPINK.
“After careful discussions with members of BLACKPINK, it signed an exclusive contract for the group’s activities based on deep trust,” the entertainment company announced Wednesday morning.
With the announcement made public at around 9:30 a.m., the firm’s stock price immediately surged as high as the daily upper limit of a 30 percent increase during the session. It ended at 60,300 won ($45.94), a 25.63 percent increase from the previous session.
Since the previous seven-year exclusive contract with the mega-hit girl group ended in August, YG Entertainment’s stock price, which once reached an all-time high of 97,000 won in May, had been on a falling trend during the past three months. It fell below the 50,000 won mark earlier this week, finishing at 48,000 won in the previous session.
The four-member group debuted in 2016 and has continued to grow its international stardom ever since. The members had been in negotiations with the entertainment company with regard to an extension of the contract.
With the renewal of the exclusive contract for the group activity, the stock price of YG PLUS, a subsidiary firm of YG Entertainment focusing on intellectual property (IP) rights, also skyrocketed by 23.81 percent in Wednesday’s session.
Meanwhile, YG said it is still negotiating over the group members’ individual activities.
