Shinsegae Group is investing $1 billion, or about 1.3596 trillion won, in Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. The move is a strategic step to apply Hollywood entertainment intellectual property to its retail operations at home and abroad, and to expand the group's business portfolio into global content.
Shinsegae Group said in a regulatory filing on the 6th that its unit Shinsegae Property will invest $1 billion in the Warner Bros. acquisition led by Paramount Skydance Group of the United States. Skydance, a Hollywood production company, acquired Paramount last year to form the media group Paramount Skydance, and completed its merger with Warner Bros. earlier this month. The investment is structured as an indirect purchase of new shares in the merged entity, with Shinsegae Group acquiring a stake in a Cayman Islands-based fund called RB Tentpole Co-Invest.
Shinsegae expects the investment to give it access to major intellectual property for use in physical spaces, including Paramount's Mission: Impossible, Star Trek and Top Gun, as well as Warner Bros.' Harry Potter and Game of Thrones. The group has already announced a partnership with Paramount to build Starbay City, a development incorporating global IP, in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. At a vision ceremony in 2019, Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin said, "We will pour all of the group's business capabilities into creating a theme park the world has never seen."
Shinsegae plans to use the investment not only to strengthen the competitiveness of its planned theme park but also to bolster its existing retail business. It intends to create IP-based experience facilities and themed spaces at its complex shopping malls, including Starfield, Starfield Market and Starfield Village. The group is also pursuing a plan to link the streaming services HBO Max and Paramount+ to its membership program, a strategy aimed at expanding customer benefits and strengthening lock-in effects.
Over the longer term, the group plans to use the deal as a springboard for a new content business. The idea is to co-produce content with Paramount Skydance Group and move into the Asian content market. The group said it is considering co-producing or partnering on Korean original content through HBO Max and Paramount+, which together have more than 200 million subscribers.
The investment comes as Chung expands the group's portfolio ahead of the planned separation of its E-Mart and department store affiliates. In July, Chung announced a partnership with the OKO Group to enter the business of developing facilities for the global luxury hotel brand Aman in Korea and overseas. In March this year, he announced an entry into the artificial intelligence data center business in partnership with Reflection AI of the United States. With the latest investment, Shinsegae's business scope is widening from the domestic market to the global stage, and from retail into technology, real estate development and now content.
Shinsegae Group said the investment goes beyond a simple equity stake and will serve as a stepping stone for diversification into a new business area combining entertainment. The group added that it aims to create an opportunity to grow into a platform company in the Asian content market.
