Hardcore BTS Fans Are Chasing South Korea's Hit IPO, Here's Why

While it’s not uncommon for fans to hoard up on shares of music labels in the K-pop scene, the obsession with Big Hit shares has touched a whole new level.

Kim Eun-hee, for instance, is a staunch BTS loyalist who’s willing to go the extra mile -- completing her collection of memorabilia of Korean boy band BTS by bidding more than $120,000 -- to purchase shares in the group’s music label Big Hit Entertainment in South Korea’s hottest IPO. Speculations are rife that Big Hit is looking at raising as much as 962.6 billion won ($825.9 million) in the IPO that is set to be South Korea’s largest in three years.

“I’m adding my support to BTS by buying shares; it will add onto my collection here,” said Eun-hee, who runs a BTS-themed cafe in Seoul, which features a wide range of BTS merchandise.

The competition among hard-core BTS fans to buy at least one share of the K-pop band’s label is building up, just as the order books for October’s listing was opened this week. The move is likely to amass bigger innings because of the expected strong retail demand. Analysts are of the opinion that Big Hit will immensely benefit from this, and will eventually take the seat as South Korea’s hottest initial public offering. The observation was cited as per a recent report.

“Gross bids from retail investors could hit 100 trillion won ($85.23 billion), it’s the biggest fish of the year,” said Hwang Hyun-jun, an analyst at DB Financial Investment as per a media outlet. “Liquidity party is still on, and the timing couldn’t be better as BTS has just topped the Billboard,” Hyun-jun added.

For instance, “Ants” – a South Korean investor group is already pining for new share listings, given the government stimulus efforts to bolster the economy after the coronavirus crisis brought the financial markets to its knees.

While the valuation seems to be impressive, scores of BTS fans are buying shares as part of memorabilia. “I don’t know about stock valuations. I know my oppas (BTS band members) are rich but I hope me buying shares make them even richer, so that they can buy something nice to wear, that would make me happy,” said Kim Seo-hyeon, a 12-year-old fan from Seoul, as per a recent report.