BTS label Big Hit IPO priced at top of range

Big Hit Entertainment, the management label of South Korean band BTS, has announced the price of its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) at 135,000 won ($114.99) a share.

Analysts expect the share as the hottest listing this year in South Korea. Fans are also excited to take part in this move.

According to the international news agency, institutional investors are willing to invest as more than 1,000 times the number of shares on offer. On the other hand, an army of retail investors is also demanding to buy the stock.

Big Hit said in a regulatory filing on Monday that the pricing is at the top of the indicative range of 105,000-135,000 won ($89.45-114.99).

The label is aiming to cash in on BTS’s immense popularity by offering more than seven million shares to the public. The label, which was created in 2005, has raised $820 million for expansion.

BTS members themselves have also given a tranche of shares each.

Park Sung-ho, analyst at Yuanta Securities Korea, said, “Big Hit is classified as a kind of global export firm.”

“Not only has it proven its ability to use Youtube, social media for smart market infiltration, it has fandom platform Weverse which gives unprecedented clarity and control over its revenue sources for a label, and may grow into a true platform player as outside artists increasingly join.”