110819 SM Entertainment stock prices reach a record high, Lee Sooman sets a 142 billion won record
SM Entertainment, one of Korea's largest domestic entertainment agencies, has seen much success in recent days. After a press conference and signing ceremony for the corporation's first overseas joint venture SM True were held, the company's share prices experienced a rapid increase.
SM Entertainment was approved and listed in KOSDAQ (Korea's independent stock market, the counterpart of the American NASDAQ) in April 2000. At the time, the company managed BoA, H.O.T., Isak, S.E.S., and Milk. Since their record low of 935 won in October 2008, SM Entertainment has experienced a steady increase in stock prices. For the first time since its record high of 65,600 won in June 2000, SM Entertainment saw a sharp increase of its stock prices, closing with a high of 30,700 won on August 17.
SM Entertainment's founder Lee Sooman, who holds the most company shares with 4,041,465 shares (24.43% of the company shares), saw his shares reach a value of 135 billion won.
On August 18, SM Entertainment's shareholders saw stock prices rising in the morning. By 9:13am, prices had risen to 35,100 won per share, a record for the company. Accordingly, Lee Sooman's shares hit 141.85 billion won, another increase setting a new record.
Although SM Entertainment's operating profits fell in the second quarter of this year, the steady increase in stock prices can be interpreted as faith in SM Entertainment as a company.
SM Town artists have been extremely successful through concerts, album sales, and their other promotions. It has been predicted that SM artists Super Junior, SHINee, SNSD, and f(x), who attract both domestic and overseas attention and sales, will assist SM Entertainment's rising stock prices to the point that Lee Sooman's company shares will exceed 140 billion won; some anticipate him to even reach 150 billion won.
Upcoming promotions have also been indicated as possible factors behind the recent rise in SM stock prices. SM artists will perform at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on September 2-4. The event is estimated to draw a crowd of over 15,000 audience members.
Source: Nate (1, 2, 3), Businessweek, and Yahoo! Finance
Credit: Koreaboo
