原文標(biāo)題：
Entertainment
K-popoly
A corporate liaison at the heart of the Korean music business
娛樂
韓國(guó)流行音樂壟斷
韓國(guó)音樂領(lǐng)域核心企業(yè)的聯(lián)姻

A takeover battle sheds light on the industry’s unusual vertical integration
一場(chǎng)收購(gòu)戰(zhàn)揭示了音樂領(lǐng)域不同尋常的垂直整合

[Paragraph 1]
FANS OF SOUTH KOREA’S wildly successful pop industry are used to the intrigue surrounding new groups, band members’ romances and their misbehaviour.

粉絲們已經(jīng)習(xí)慣了韓國(guó)流行音樂產(chǎn)業(yè)的各種炒作，包括新團(tuán)體包裝、樂隊(duì)成員戀情及不當(dāng)行為等炒作。

Now a new source of K-pop drama has emerged from an unexpected quarter.

現(xiàn)在，新一季度發(fā)生的事情出乎意料，可拍成一部韓劇。

On February 10th HYBE, an entertainment house which represents the genre’s biggest name, BTS, agreed to buy a 14.8% stake in SM Entertainment, a rival, from its founder and former chief producer, Lee Soo-man.

2月10日，HYBE同意收購(gòu)SM創(chuàng)始人兼前首席制片人李秀滿持有的14.8%的股份。HYBE是當(dāng)下最火的防彈少年團(tuán)背后的娛樂公司。

Mr Lee, who is no longer involved in his firm’s day-to-day business, would be left with roughly 4%, making HYBE its largest shareholder.

李秀滿不再參與公司的日常業(yè)務(wù)，他將只剩下4%左右的股份，而HYBE將成為SM最大的股東。

In pursuit of an even closer tie-up, HYBE simultaneously launched a tender offer to buy another 25% at a similar premium to the shares’ market price that it is paying Mr Lee.
與此同時(shí)，為了尋求更緊密的合作，HYBE發(fā)起了一項(xiàng)收購(gòu)要約，以高于股市的價(jià)格繼續(xù)收購(gòu)SM小額股東25%的股份，這價(jià)格與支付給李秀滿的價(jià)格一致。

SM Entertainment says it will resist any attempt at a hostile takeover.
SM稱公司將反對(duì)任何惡意收購(gòu)。

The stage is set for a corporate showdown worthy of any pop feud.
舞臺(tái)已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備就緒，迎接娛樂公司最后的勝負(fù)戰(zhàn)。

[Paragraph 2]
HYBE and SM Entertainment are the two largest listed K-pop companies, with a combined market capitalisation of nearly $9bn.

HYBE和SM是韓國(guó)最大的2家上市音樂公司，總市值近90億美元。

A full merger would create an industry powerhouse, capturing a large chunk of South Korea’s music-production business.

兩家公司完全合并將成為一個(gè)行業(yè)巨頭，會(huì)在韓國(guó)音樂制作領(lǐng)域占很大比例。

SM Entertainment is particularly strong in talent-scouting. Three years ago it established its own school in Seoul, which now offers three-year courses in everything from vocals and dance to production.

SM特別擅長(zhǎng)挖掘有明星潛質(zhì)的人才。3年前，它在首爾建立了自己的學(xué)校，現(xiàn)在提供聲樂、舞蹈、制作等內(nèi)容的3年期課程。

HYBE, for its part, dominates music distribution through Weverse, a digital platform that hosts exclusive content such as live-streamed concerts and lessons where BTS members teach foreign fans Korean.
HYBE擅長(zhǎng)通過Weverse數(shù)字平臺(tái)發(fā)行音樂，這個(gè)平臺(tái)可以儲(chǔ)存獨(dú)家內(nèi)容，如現(xiàn)場(chǎng)直播演唱會(huì)，防彈少年團(tuán)成員教外國(guó)粉絲的韓語(yǔ)課程。

[Paragraph 3]
Vertical integration is not unusual in Korean show business.

垂直整合在韓國(guó)演藝界并不罕見。

JYP Entertainment, another K-pop house, has a TV-production subsidiary. YG Entertainment, another rival, runs a modelling agency.

韓國(guó)另一家音樂公司JYP有一家電視制作子公司。另一家對(duì)手公司YG有一家模特經(jīng)紀(jì)公司。

They take the raw material (an artist) and transform it into the finished products (content), using a finely tuned production process.

他們以原材料（藝術(shù)家）為基礎(chǔ)，并通過精心調(diào)整的生產(chǎn)流程將其轉(zhuǎn)化為成品（內(nèi)容）。

As Lee Jang-woo of Kyungpook National University observes, this innovation strategy has a lot in common with South Korea’s high-tech manufacturing industry.

正如慶北大學(xué)的李章宇所觀察到的那樣，這種娛樂產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新戰(zhàn)略與韓國(guó)高科技制造業(yè)有很多共同之處。

K-pop firms may learn as much from conglomerates like Samsung and Hyundai as from Western labels such as Warner and Universal.
韓國(guó)音樂公司從“三星”和“現(xiàn)代”這樣的企業(yè)集團(tuán)學(xué)到的東西，可能與從“華納”和“環(huán)球”這樣的西方企業(yè)學(xué)到的東西一樣多。

[Paragraph 4]
For HYBE, combining with SM Entertainment would allow it to diversify away from BTS, notes Douglas Kim, an independent analyst of Korea Inc.

韓國(guó)公司的獨(dú)立分析師道格拉斯·金稱，對(duì)于HYBE來說，它與SM合并將打造多樣化的藝人團(tuán)體，不僅限于防彈少年團(tuán)。

This is especially important now that the supergroup has confirmed it will hit pause until 2025, while its seven members undergo the mandatory 18 months of military service.

這一點(diǎn)顯得尤為重要。防彈少年團(tuán)已證實(shí)團(tuán)隊(duì)將暫停工作到2025年，因?yàn)橛?名成員將履行18個(gè)月的服兵役義務(wù)。

SM Entertainment’s managers may worry that an investigation from Korean trustbusters, who must review any transaction involving more than 15% of shares, could be a distraction.

SM的管理者可能擔(dān)心，韓國(guó)反壟斷者的調(diào)查可能會(huì)分散公司的注意力。因?yàn)榉磯艛鄼C(jī)構(gòu)必須對(duì)任何涉及15%以上的股份交易進(jìn)行審查。

They would rather pursue a partnership with Kakao, a Korean internet giant to which they had just sold 9% of their firm in newly issued shares.
SM寧愿與韓國(guó)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)巨頭Kakao建立合作關(guān)系，他們剛剛將公司9%的新發(fā)行股份出售給了Kakao。

[Paragraph 5]
That may not be enough to stop HYBE. SM Entertainment’s share price is up by nearly 50% since the sale of Mr Lee’s stake to HYBE was announced, implying that investors quite like the sound of a union.
這可能不足以阻止HYBE的收購(gòu)行動(dòng)。李秀滿的股份出售給HYBE的消息公布后，SM的股價(jià)上漲了近50%，這意味著投資者們非常樂意看到兩家公司合并。

（恭喜讀完，本篇英語(yǔ)詞匯量524左右）
原文出自：2023年2月18日《The Economist》Business版塊。

精讀筆記來源于：自由英語(yǔ)之路

本文翻譯整理: Irene本文編輯校對(duì): Irene
僅供個(gè)人英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)交流使用。

【補(bǔ)充資料】（來自于網(wǎng)絡(luò)）
垂直整合（Vertical Integration）是一種提高或降低公司對(duì)于其投入和產(chǎn)出分配控制水平的方法，也即公司對(duì)其生產(chǎn)投入、產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)的分配的控制程度。直整合意味著公司的價(jià)值鏈與其供應(yīng)商、經(jīng)銷商價(jià)值鏈之間的整合水平。航空業(yè)的垂直整合也許最為典型。

HYBE是一家韓國(guó)娛樂公司，前身為2005年方時(shí)赫成立的Big Hit Entertainment ，2021年更名為HYBE 。HYBE由韓國(guó)本部HYBE、美國(guó)本部HYBE AMERICA、日本本部HYBE JAPAN組成。業(yè)務(wù)上區(qū)分為L(zhǎng)abel、Solution、Platform。旗下各廠牌（Label）獨(dú)立開展活動(dòng)，包括SOURCE MUSIC等。Solution開展以音樂為基礎(chǔ)的演出、視頻內(nèi)容、IP、教學(xué)、游戲等業(yè)務(wù)，包括HYBE 360、HYBE IPX等 。Platform連接并拓展HYBE所有內(nèi)容與服務(wù)，Platform包括Weverse Company 。旗下藝人有李賢，防彈少年團(tuán)等。

韓國(guó)SM娛樂有限公司（S.M.Entertainment）是韓國(guó)一間大型藝人企劃和經(jīng)紀(jì)公司，由歌手出身的李秀滿于1989年創(chuàng)辦。其名稱“SM”為英文“Star Museum”的縮寫，意為“明星博物館、名人殿堂”。旗下代表藝人有寶兒、東方神起、Super Junior、少女時(shí)代等。

JYP娛樂（JYP Entertainment）是韓國(guó)歌手樸振榮創(chuàng)立的經(jīng)紀(jì)公司。YG Entertainment是韓國(guó)著名的上市娛樂公司，由已解散的90年代當(dāng)紅團(tuán)體“徐太志和孩子們”團(tuán)員之一的梁鉉錫于1996年所創(chuàng)立。

Kakao Talk是一款來自韓國(guó)的由中國(guó)騰訊擔(dān)任第二大股東的免費(fèi)聊天軟件，類似于QQ微信的聊天軟件。2023年2月7日，韓聯(lián)社消息，韓國(guó)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)巨頭Kakao公布，公司收購(gòu)SM娛樂9.05%的股份，成為其第二大股東。

【重點(diǎn)句子】（3?個(gè)）
The stage is set for a corporate showdown worthy of any pop feud.
舞臺(tái)已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備就緒，迎接娛樂公司最后的勝負(fù)戰(zhàn)。

A full merger would create an industry powerhouse, capturing a large chunk of South Korea’s music-production business.
兩家公司完全合并將成為一個(gè)行業(yè)巨頭，會(huì)在韓國(guó)音樂制作領(lǐng)域占很大比例。

They take the raw material (an artist) and transform it into the finished products (content), using a finely tuned production process.
他們以原材料（藝術(shù)家）為基礎(chǔ)，并通過精心調(diào)整的生產(chǎn)流程將其轉(zhuǎn)化為成品（內(nèi)容）。