IU, K-POP star under management of Loen[Photo by Yoo Dae-gil = dbeorlf123@ajunews.com]
In a push to diversify its business portfolios, Kakao, operator of South Korea's dominant chat app KakaoTalk, will buy a control of the country’s music streaming service operator provider Loen Entertainment.
Loen owns music streaming service MelOn as well as a talent agency with a number of famed "K-Pop" stars such as IU.
Kakao will buy a 76.4 percent stake in Loen for 1.9 trillion won ($1.57 billion), the company said.
"The synergy from the acquisition will allow Kakao to generate new demand in the content business by adding music streaming to its existing portfolio of content services," the company said in a statement.
KakaoTalk is used by around 37 million users in the country with a population of 50 million. .Loen’s music streaming service MelOn has about 28 million local users.
By Alex lee
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com