South Korean music giant Hybe has acquired Atlanta-based QC Media Holdings, the parent company of influential hip-hop label Quality Control Music, home to Migos, Lil Yachty and Lil Baby.
According to a filing with Korean regulators, the deal is worth approximately $300 million, with Hybe paying a $250 million purchase price for QC, and issuing $50 million in new stock to QC’s founders Kevin “Coach K” Lee and Pierre “P” Thomas, according to a report on www.hollywoodreporter.com.
Established in 2005, and known as Big Hit Entertainment until 2021, Hybe is a multinational music talent agency, label, promoter, event management and production company. The company is home to K-pop phenomenons BTS, Tomorrow X Together and Lee Hyun.
The deal comes as Hybe increasingly looks beyond K-pop and the Asian market for growth and is the first big acquisition under Hybe America CEO Scooter Braun and gives the company control over one of the fastest-growing and most culturally relevant independent labels in the U.S.
Hybe America will now oversee the Quality Control label, with Thomas and Lee remaining in charge, under the direction of Braun. Hybe America also includes SB Projects (clients include Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and Kid Laroi) and Big Machine Label Group (roster includes Tim McGraw, Thomas Rhett and Rascal Flatts).
“Based on hip-hop, QC has been making a strong presence in the American music scene,” Hybe CEO Jiwon Park said in a statement. “With our shared vision, I have high hopes in what we can operate and achieve together.”
“P and I are ecstatic about this partnership with Scooter and HYBE and are confident they can get us to our global ambitions we’ve had in our scope since the beginning of the company as nothing means more than our artists impacting worldwide,” Lee added in a statement. “Over many years, Scooter and I have cultivated real trust and a common way of looking at the world and culture.”
