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Hive and Kakao, who were fiercely competing to acquire
SM Entertainment, met in a blitzkrieg. SM stock has soared 50% in the past month. Attention is focused on the outcome of the negotiations between the two sides.

Ahn Sang-woo is a reporter.

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Kakao launched a tender offer for KRW 7,35 per share to acquire an additional 1% stake in SM Entertainment from the 15th.

Earlier, when Hive only added 0.98% of SM stake in the tender offer, Kakao launched a counterattack, but SM stock immediately exceeded 15,10 won and ended trading at 14,7 won yesterday (800th).

With the second tender offer leading to speculation that Hive would also launch a counter-fire operation, Kakao and Hive held a blitzkrieg meeting yesterday.

While the takeover battle was turning into a game of chicken, the interpretation is that the two sides met because they felt burdened by SM's skyrocketing stock price.

In fact, SM's stock price, which was below KRW 2,10 just before Hive entered the takeover battle, soared by 1% in one month, and now no one can guarantee a victory in the acquisition battle even after pouring in astronomical funds of more than KRW 50 trillion.

[Hwang Se-woon/Research Fellow, Capital Market Research Institute: Even if you pay a high cost and then secure a stake in SM, the risk of suffering greatly from the aftereffects of the victory result is actually higher.]

It is not yet known which of the two will withdraw from the takeover battle or whether they will come up with a compromise such as joint management.

However, it is suggested that the two sides may have agreed not to compete for shares anymore as a protracted management dispute could lead to damage to individual shareholders.

(Video editing by Won Hyung-hee)