Sulli of girl group f(x) (left) and Lee Min-ho of boy band SHINee (right) plays with whipped cream on the set of Seoul-based production firm SM C&C's "For You in Full Blossoms," which began airing on SBS on August 15, 2012. [SBS]

SM Culture & Contents [SM C&C], a subsidiary company of SM Entertainment, is gearing up to achieve their goal to become Asia’s top management firm.

AM Entertainment, Seoul-based talent agency guiding the careers of A-list stars such as Hyun Bin and Kim Ha-neul, has come under the wings of SM's fast-growing affiliate, SM officials said in a press release Wednesday.

Under the two's mergers and acquisition deal, SM C&C is buckling down to expand its video production and talent management business throughout Asia.

“AM Entertainment’s actors are some of the most beloved stars in Asia. We will make them stand proud in the global market through SM Entertainment’s global network,” SM C&C Chief Kim Yeong-min was quoted as saying.

Additionally, SM C&C has inked exclusive management contracts with top comedian-emcee Kim Byung-man and Lee Soo-geun, who said they were "attracted by SM's systematic management."

With the deal, SBS "The Laws of the Jungle" main host Kim and KBS “2 Days and 1 Night” (KBS) comedian Lee will now be working under the same roof with Kang Ho-dong and Shin Dong-yup.

Market professionals and critics are expecting that the firm could become one of the biggest entertainment-related companies here and has the potential to monopolize the local entertainment industry.

With its parent company's affiliated artists--f(x)'s Sulli and SHINee's Lee Min-ho--SM C&C has recently produced SBS TV series, "For You in Full Blossoms."


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10 아시아 Reporter : Lee Hye Ji hjlee@
10 아시아 Editor : Monica Suk monicasuk@
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