- Shares of YG Entertainment spiked 29% after the company announced that it has renewed group contracts with all four members of Blackpink.
- The terms of the new deal were not immediately clear and the announcement did not specify whether the members renewed their contracts on an individual basis.
- South Korean media previously reported that members may not renew their individual contracts with the label and instead only continue group activities with the label.
Shares of K-pop agency YG Entertainment spiked as much as 29% after the company announced that it has renewed exclusive group contracts with all four members of girl group Blackpink.
The stock closed at 48,000 South Korean won ($36.58) per share on Tuesday, near its 2023 low of 47,000 won. But on Wednesday, it surged at the open and hit an intraday high of 61,900 South Korean won per share. The stock eventually closed at 60,300 won, marking a 25.63% gain.
This could bring an end to the long running contract saga between the popular K-pop group and the agency. The drama took YG shares on a wild ride alongside the rumored ups and downs in contract negotiations.
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The terms of the new deal were not immediately clear and the announcement did not specify whether the members renewed their contracts on an individual basis.
In late November, South Korean outletĀ Munhwa Ilbo reported that members would not renew their exclusive individual contracts with YG, butĀ instead continue group activitiesĀ as Blackpink under the label.
Munhwa Ilbo reported then that "exclusive contracts between each member and YG Entertainment were not signed.Ā In the future, they plan to carry out individual activities and come together only for Blackpink activities."
Money Report
Shares of YG previously plunged each time South Korean media reported that members of the group will not renew with the label.
Blackpink is arguably one of YG's most successful acts. The company said the group's recent world tour attracted 2.11 million people around the world, spanning 66 performances in 34 cities.
Most recently, the four-member group became the first K-pop group and the first non-British musicians to receive honoraryĀ Member of the Order of the British EmpireĀ medals from British monarch King Charles III on Nov. 22, in recognition of their advocacy at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow in 2021.
The group was also the first Asian act and K-pop girl group to headline theĀ Coachella festival in the U.S.Ā and theĀ first K-pop group to headline a major festival in the U.K. at theĀ BST Hyde Park festival.
Blackpink holds theĀ Guinness World RecordĀ for most-viewed music channel on YouTube for a group.