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bemyfriends acquires majority stake in SK Group's Dreamus

Published: 31 Oct. 2025, 13:06

KIM JU-YEON
[email protected]

bemyfriends will acquire a majority stake in Dreamus, the parent company of the consumer electronics firm iRiver and music streaming platform FLO. [BEMYFRIENDS]

The tech startup bemyfriends will acquire a majority stake in SK Group's Dreamus, the parent company of the consumer electronics brand iRiver and music streaming platform FLO, for 55 billion won ($38.5 million), according to an electronic filing on Friday.

bemyfriends signed a deal to buy a 31 percent stake in SK Square, Shinhan Venture Investment's Neospes and SM Entertainment the previous day, as disclosed in the Financial Supervisory Service's digital system.

SK Square plans to sell its 13 percent stake in Dreamus to bemyfriends while retaining 20 percent, keeping its position as a majority shareholder. Neospes will sell 8.6 percent, and SM Entertainment 5.5 percent. The shares were priced at 2,368 won apiece, a 41.7 percent premium to the previous day’s close, for a total of around 55 billion won. Payments are set to be completed by Nov. 28.

Market watchers see the move as part of SK Square's broader efforts to streamline noncore businesses and focus on investments in chips and AI.

Founded in 2021, bemyfriends operates the fandom business platform b.stage, which allows fans of K-pop, esports, musicals and other forms of entertainment to create online community spaces. b.stage's clients include G-Dragon, EXO's Do Kyung-soo and Netflix's “KPop Demon Hunters.”

The company said it will combine FLO with b.stage to create a music platform that connects streaming to fandom interaction, commerce and live experiences.

bemyfriends recently received 21 billion won funding from the U.S. venture capital firm Goodwater Capital. It partnered with Korean private equity firm Midas Private Equity to finance its Dreamus acquisition, the company said.

“Through this acquisition, we plan to grow Dreamus into a global leader in music fandom and redefine how fans and artists connect,” said Seo Woo-seok, the CEO of bemyfriends. “It will be a game changer that creates an unprecedented music fandom experience in the global market.”

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]