... [+]at the South Korean company, Big Hit Entertainment, home to BTS and TXT, announced on May 25 that it has become the largest shareholder of Pledis Entertainment, which houses K-pop boy bands Seventeen and NU’EST.
According to Big Hit, the move has helped the company further its goal of growing its multi-label structure, establishing “a first-string boyband roster in South Korea.” Big Hit, which was founded by Bang Si-Hyuk in 2005, has seen major successes in recent years as BTS has become an unparalleled global phenomena, and the move comes amid rumors of Big Hit going public and holding an IPO in coming months.
The company says that Pledis, which was founded by CEO Han Sung Soo in 2007, will “maintain its label's independence” despite the move while receiving support from Big Hit. Its artists are expected to, “play a greater role in overseas markets based on Big Hit's global networks and platform technologies, capabilities of which have been proven by BTS' global success.”
In March, the first waves of the Pledis acquisition were felt when Seventeen was added to Big Hit’s proprietary app, Weverse.