IST Entertainment
IST Entertainment (Hangul: 아이에스티엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean entertainment company under Kakao Entertainment. History. Plan A Entertainment. In 2011, A Cube Entertainment was established as an independent label of Cube Entertainment. A Cube signed its first solo artist Huh Gak and launched girl group Apink, which was made up from former Cube Entertainment trainees. In November 2015, LOEN Entertainment (later Kakao M and then Kakao Entertainment) acquired 70% of the entire label and subsequently absorbed it as an independent subsidiary. The label announced in March 2016 that it has been renamed Plan A Entertainment since it was no  longer affiliated with Cube Entertainment. It launched its first boy group Victon in November that year. In early 2018, Plan A Entertainment acquired Kakao M's actor agency E&T Story Entertainment, owning 60% of the agency's shares. In the following months, Choi Jin-ho (founder and co-CEO) resigned and 30% of the remaining shares were sold for 3.51 billion won. As a result, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Kakao M. Fave Entertainment. Fave Entertainment was originally founded in 2012 as LOEN Tree, to manage LOEN Entertainment's recording artists. It was spun-off as a separate  subsidiary label in 2016 and renamed Fave Entertainment. Artists who were transferred to Fave Entertainment included Fiestar, History, IU and Sunny Hill. Its trainees have notably featured in "MIXNINE, Under Nineteen," and "Produce 101". In October 2018, the label announced its upcoming girl group, temporarily known as "Fave Girls". Cre.ker Entertainment. Cre.ker Entertainment is a record label founded by Kakao Entertainment (formerly LOEN Entertainment) in 2014, the label is home to artist groups Melody Day and The Boyz. Merger. On February 13, 2019, Kakao Entertainment released a statement that Plan A Entertainment and Fave Entertainment would be merging on April  1. Plan A Entertainment, being the surviving entity in the merger, was renamed Play M Entertainment and absorbed Fave Entertainment's assets and remaining artists, including trainees. In May 2020, it was announced that "Fave Girls", who became "Play M Girls" following the merger, would be debuting in June as Weeekly. It is the company's first girl group since Apink. On September 17, 2021, Kakao Entertainment announced that Play M Entertainment and Cre.ker Entertainment would be merging in the future. On November 12, 2021, it was announced that the company's new corporate name would be IST Entertainment, which  took in effect on November 1. On February 7, 2022, IST Entertainment announced the debut of a new boy group in the first half of the year through a reality competition show, "The Origin – A, B, Or What?". The show premiered on March 19, 2022. Artists. Groups Soloists