page_title: SM Entertainment
section_title: 2010–2012: Joint and further ventures
hierarchical_section_title: SM Entertainment / History / 2010–2012: Joint and further ventures
caption_attribution_description: English: Exo at Ex'act Press Con June 2016 한국어: 컴백 쇼케이스 6월2016년에 엑소
context_page_description: SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. is South Korea's largest
  entertainment company, founded in 1995 by Lee Soo-man. The company has developed and popularized numerous K-pop stars with huge global fandoms. SM is known for having led the global K-pop phenomenon and the musical side of "Hallyu", also known as the "Korean Wave", with early overseas successes such as H.O.T. and BoA.
  The label has also represented K-pop artists such as Kangta, S.E.S., TVXQ!, CSJH The Grace, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, J-Min, SHINee, f(x), Zhou Mi, Exo, Red Velvet, NCT, WayV, and previously represented Fly to the Sky, Shinhwa, TraxX, and Henry Lau. It also manages actors, including Kim Min-jong and Lee Yeon-hee. In Japan, SM Entertainment co-publishes Avex Trax releases for artists including Ayumi Hamasaki, Namie Amuro, and Koda Kumi, as well as Johnny's Entertainment artists such as Arashi and KAT-TUN.
context_section_description: In February 2010, after two decades on SM Entertainment's board of directors, founder Lee Soo-man resigned from his position in order to "focus more energy on SM's overseas business, new business management, and artist development.” In March of the same year, KMP Holdings was established as a joint venture between SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, Star Empire, Medialine, CAN Entertainment, and Music Factory. The firm's first release from SM was Super Junior's fifth studio album, Mr. Simple, which marked the end of SM's self-distribution. In May, SM announced its highest ever first quarter operating profits, at KR₩10.4 billion, up 471% from the same period the previous year. Gross revenue was reported at KR₩22.7 billion, a 58% increase on the previous year.
  In April 2011, SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, KeyEast, AMENT, and Star J Entertainment came together to form United Asia Management, a joint investment agency geared towards advancing Asian music worldwide. That August, SM joined with Thai media company TrueVisions to create an international joint venture, SM True.
  In 2012, SM debuted the large-scale boy group EXO, split into two units in order to promote in Korea and China simultaneously. In February, SM acquired Hawaiian travel firm Happy Hawaii and launched SMTown Travel, a new business initiative specializing in travel and tourism under Kang Jung-hyun. Later that year, SMTown Travel offered package deals for overseas fans attending Super Junior's Super Show 4 Tour encore concerts in Seoul. In March, 47 of SM Entertainment's recording artists became stockholders of the company. Kangta, BoA, and most members of Super Junior and Girls’ Generation received 680 shares each (with a value of approximately US$27,200 per person), while members of more recent groups like Shinee and f(x) received 340 shares each (with a value of around US$13,600 per person). In August, SM held an art exhibition at the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center, and collaborated with Visa and KB Kookmin Card to begin printing SM artist cards. That same month, Korean TV personalities Kang Ho-dong and Shin Dong-yup announced that they had signed exclusive contracts with SM's new broadcasting subsidiary, SM Culture & Contents (SM C&C), marking SM's expansion into television. The next month, in September, SM C&C merged with AM Entertainment (which then represented top actors such as Jang Dong-gun, Kim Ha-neul, and Han Ji-min), and two other TV personalities, Lee Su-geun and Kim Byung-man, announced that they had also signed with SM. In November, KMP Holdings was acquired by KT Music, and in June 2013, KT Music absorbed KMP's distribution network.
caption: Exo in June 2016
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