[THE INVESTOR]  Entertainment company IHQ has partnered with A&E Networks, a subsidiary of Walt Disney Co. to jointly develop contents for the global market, according to Maeil Business Newspaper on Oct. 24.

IHQ has been seeking to expand into television drama and recording production and has a partner to provide its contents worldwide.

Walt Disney will secure a foothold to make further inroads into South Korea. A&E, a documentary and drama cable, will also make use of a range of hallyu contents including close to 20 television dramas produced by IHQ, which owns six cable channels and manages celebrities such as Kim Woo-bin and Kim You-jung.

A&E will also take over about 5 percent stake in the South Korean partner from its largest shareholder DLive for US$15 million. This will not only strengthen the partnership but also contribute to further stabilizing the parent company DLive that has narrowly managed to extend the maturity date of acceptance financing. DLive is the largest cable channel operator in the Seoul metropolitan area.

By Hwang You-mee (glamazon@heraldcorp.com)