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 filings with South Korean regulators, the deal is worth about $300 million, in which Hybe pays a $250 million purchase price for QC and issues $50 million in new shares to the founders. The QCs are Kevin “Coach K” Lee and Pierre “P” Thomas.
Founded in 2005 and known as Big Hit Entertainment until 2021, Hybe is a multinational music talent management, label, promoter, event manager, and production company. The company is the home of K-pop sensations 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 major acquisition under Hybe America CEO Scooter Braun and gives the company control of the company. controls one of the fastest growing and most culturally relevant independent brands in America
Hybe America will now oversee the Quality Control label, with Thomas and Lee still in charge, under Braun’s direction. Hybe America also includes SB Projects (clients include Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and Kid Laroi) and Big Machine Label Group (the list includes Tim McGraw, Thomas Rhett, and Rascal Flatts).
Hybe CEO Jiwon Park said, “Based on hip-hop background, QC already has a strong presence in the American music scene. “With our shared vision, I have high hopes for what we can work and achieve together.”
“P and I are very excited about this partnership with Scooter and HYBE and are confident they can lead us to the global ambitions we have had in our scope since the company’s founding because none other than our artists influence around the world,” Lee added in a statement. “Over the years, Scooter and I have cultivated real beliefs and a shared view of the world and culture.”
