This article appeared on "Signal," the capital markets compass, at 15:45 on June 21, 2026.
SLL JoongAng is pushing to sell its 12.74% stake in Tving. With major affiliates such as JoongAng Ilbo and JTBC continuing to struggle amid a liquidity crisis, SLL JoongAng—the only unit to avoid court receivership and workout (corporate restructuring)—is interpreted as having chosen to dispose of its stake as the first measure toward normalization.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 21st, SLL JoongAng is understood to be pursuing a sale of its Tving stake. In effect, the company is moving to secure cash to overcome the liquidity crisis engulfing the entire group. An SLL JoongAng official explained, "We are pursuing the sale of our Tving stake," adding, "We are working to resolve the crisis we currently face."
As of the end of last year, SLL JoongAng held a 12.74% stake in Tving, and including convertible bonds, its stake jumps to more than 20%. Considering that Tving's enterprise value currently falls short of 1 trillion won, the value of SLL JoongAng's stake is estimated at around 200 billion won.
CJ ENM, Tving's largest shareholder, is currently cited as a leading acquisition candidate. The reasoning is that CJ ENM would need to secure additional shares to strengthen its control in the Tving-Wavve merger process. However, the Tving-Wavve merger remains at a standstill, as there are still tangled issues to resolve with KT, the parent company of KT Studio Genie, one of Tving's major shareholders. KT is reportedly taking a cautious stance, citing share dilution from the Tving-Wavve merger and the shareholders' agreement signed during the 2022 absorption merger of online video service (OTT) "Seezn." A CJ ENM official said, "There has been no related proposal yet," adding, "We have no set position as of yet."
SLL JoongAng is the only one among JoongAng Group's major affiliates to avoid receivership and workout. However, the prevailing industry view is that, as a subsidiary of Contentree JoongAng, it will play a key role in the recovery plan. As a result, a plan to sell SLL JoongAng itself is reportedly also being discussed internally. Another IB industry official said, "Options being discussed include selling the Tving stake preemptively and then proceeding with a sale, or not selling it and adding it to the enterprise value to maintain the price."
Some voice concerns that CJ ENM, too, lacks sufficient capacity, making the acquisition of the Tving stake difficult. Many also see the fact that, once the Wavve merger is completed, Tving would effectively become Korea's only homegrown OTT platform as a factor that prevents hasty moves to strengthen control. An IB industry official said, "Increasing its influence may be burdensome at a time when the Wavve merger has not yet been finalized," while adding, "If the price is lower than the market expects, it is a matter worth considering."
