HYBE allegedly paid about 3.16 times Ithaca Holdings’ asset value when it acquired the Scooter Braun–led company in 2021.
According to the outlet’s summary of prior coverage, a The Bell report on Aug. 9, 2021 said HYBE booked goodwill of roughly 820 billion KRW (about 590 million USD), interpreted as a premium for brand value and control. By contrast, an analysis by Samil PwC placed Ithaca Holdings’ total assets at around 436 billion KRW (about 310 million USD) at end-2020, with operating profit near 19 billion KRW (about 14 million USD).
The outlet states that HYBE calculated net assets at approximately 380 billion KRW (about 270 million USD) and, adding goodwill of about 820 billion KRW (about 590 million USD), paid roughly 1.2 trillion KRW (about 860 million USD) in total—“about 3.16 times” net asset value.
It further notes that after the deal, the “Ithaca Holdings” name was folded under HYBE America, implying the standalone brand was no longer used.
A separate claim in the article is that Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Idina Menzel, Demi Lovato, J Balvin, and others touted at the time of acquisition “terminated and left” soon after HYBE took over. It also points out that Ithaca Holdings had sold Taylor Swift’s master rights shortly before the deal, raising questions—per the article—about what underpinned the booked goodwill figure of roughly 820 billion KRW (about 590 million USD). The outlet argues the effective premium might have been “closer to ten times.”
The article adds that HYBE America recorded consecutive losses: about 8 billion KRW (about 5.7 million USD) in 2021, 74.8 billion KRW (about 53 million USD) in 2022, 142.4 billion KRW (about 102 million USD) in 2023, and “in the 140 billion KRW range” (about 100 million USD) in 2024—totaling roughly 365 billion KRW (about 261 million USD) to date.
Former Korean Medical Association president Choi Dae Jip is quoted as saying, "Was 1.2 trillion KRW an appropriate price for Ithaca Holdings without Taylor Swift’s works and without Ariana Grande or Justin Bieber? If a company lacking those top stars was still acquired for 1.2 trillion KRW, there may have been diversion of domestic funds under the guise of investment for offshore tax evasion and illicit slush funds." He added, "The Seoul Regional Tax Office should thoroughly examine HYBE America’s cash flows and Bang Si Hyuk’s personal accounts in Korea and the U.S."
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