Kakao Entertainment executives recently reiterated that rumors of the company's sale and partitioning of the institutional sector are unfounded. They also drew a line on the possibility of a merger between the institutional sector and its Japanese subsidiary, Piccoma, stating there is no confirmed information.
Kwon Ki-soo, co-CEO of Kakao, emphasized on the afternoon of the 20th during the company-wide employee event "Entalk" held at the office in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, that "the rumor of the sale has been distorted during the process of changing financial investors and equity fluctuations, and I reiterate that it is unfounded."
Kwon noted regarding the partitioning of the story content business and the merger with Kakao Piccoma that "it is true that discussions on synergy measures have been ongoing for several years, but there are currently no especially confirmed matters." He added, "I ask the crew not to worry and to focus on their assigned tasks."
Kakao Entertainment denied the sale rumors through the internal bulletin board in April, and this time it clarified its position directly through a regular face-to-face event with members.
Earlier this year, speculation in the investment banking industry suggested that Kakao Entertainment would partition the story content and music/video sectors and then sell only the music/video sector. Analysts indicated that a total sale of the entire corporation is realistically difficult due to its large size, especially since synergy can be expected from the story sector with its Japanese subsidiary Piccoma.
As such speculation continued and confusion persisted both inside and outside the company, it is interpreted that the executives took direct action to clarify matters.