South Korea’s management agency YG Entertainment and French luxury giant LVMH signed an investment agreement worth $80 million in Singapore on Saturday.

The cooperation between the two companies came a month after LVMH’s private equity arm L Capital Asia announced its plan to invest up to $80 million in the entertainment powerhouse.

“We believe that the partnership with L Capital can be a trigger that can drive YG’s further growth and lead new trends,” YG’s CEO Yang Min-suk said during the signing ceremony held Saturday at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Singapore.

“Our complementary partnership can be a tool to maximize the potential of the showbiz industry, make new revenue and lead new business,” said L Capital Asia’s CEO Ravi Thakran. 

“I think fashion and music always go together. I thought it was a shame that Korea did not have its representative fashion brand,” said the entertainment company’s founder and chairman Yang Hyun-suk. “Now I hope I can boost Korea’s profile through music and fashion.”

A slew of YG artists such as popular groups Big Bang, CL and rookies WINNER participated in the event to celebrate the occasion.

YG Entertainment is the nation’s second biggest entertainment agency by sales, which retains top K-pop stars such as world-famous Psy.

L Capital is a LVMH’s Singapore-based private firm that invests in promising brands from Asia’s emerging countries.

With the company’s first-ever investment in a Korean company, L Capital Asia will be the second-largest investor in YG with an 11.5-percent stake, following YG’s founder who owns a 28-percent share.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)