Ithaca Holdings founder Scooter Braun is new CEO of HYBE America

Scooter Braun, founder of Ithaca Holdings and CEO of HYBE America [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Scooter Braun, founder of Justin Bieber’s agency Ithaca Holdings, has become the sole CEO of HYBE America.

According to a report by U.S. entertainment news outlet Variety on Wednesday, HYBE America’s former co-CEO Lenzo Yoon, or Yoon Suk-joon, stepped down recently, making Braun CEO of HYBE America.

Yoon's next step has not been decided yet, according to HYBE.

HYBE reportedly acquired Ithaca Holdings for 1.7 trillion won ($1.4 billion) in April 2021, merging some of the biggest names in the pop music scene such as Bieber, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato with K-pop’s headliners BTS, Tomorrow X Together and more. Ithaca Holdings is owned by HYBE America, which is owned by HYBE.

As the sole leader of HYBE America, Braun will be heading the new girl group audition that is set to take place during the latter half of the year in the United States in collaboration with Geffen Records, a subsidiary of the Universal Music Group (UMG).

The girl group will be nurtured under the tight-knit training system that has given birth to talented K-pop bands. HYBE has been successfully launching rookie girl groups since last year especially, with its latest bands Le Sserafim and NewJeans topping charts in and outside of Korea.

“The success of NewJeans leads to higher expectations for the global girl group, which the company is set to announce plans for during the second quarter,” said Park Da-gyeom, an analyst at Hi Investment & Securities.

HYBE shares rose 2.6 percent Thursday morning following the news, trading at 191,300 won as of 11 a.m. The company stock prices have been steadily rising since seeing an all-time low of 109,500 won last October.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]