A major venture capital firm has reportedly put its investment plans for Min Hee Jin‘s ooak records on hold, six months after the producer said she was receiving interest from multiple companies.
According to a DealSite report on August 11th, Atinum Investment decided to pause its review of a potential investment in ooak records. The label is reportedly seeking a valuation of between 100 billion won and 200 billion won (roughly $141 million), a level investors are said to view as burdensome given the company’s current stage.
Citing venture capital industry sources, the report said discussions stalled because ooak currently has no signed artists or established revenue model despite presenting a high valuation.
The company, founded with 30 million won in capital, is still in the early stages of building out its operations. Its board currently consists only of Min as an internal director and auditor Im Chae Rin, according to the report.
Investor interest is therefore largely tied to Min’s track record as a producer rather than existing intellectual property or revenue. While her role in creating NewJeans remains a major selling point, a valuation of up to 200 billion won is considered unusually high for a new company without artists or a proven business model.
For comparison, the reported top-end valuation exceeds the combined market capitalizations of Cube Entertainment, FNC Entertainment and RBW as of August 13th.
The report also noted that ooak’s private auditions reportedly drew a large number of applicants, suggesting investment talks could resume once its planned rookie boy group begins full-scale activities.
In February, Min said she was willing to give up a 25.6 billion won put-option payment from HYBE, but only if the company dropped all lawsuits against her. At the time, the proposal was seen as an effort to reduce legal uncertainty as she sought outside funding for ooak records.
Atinum ultimately put the investment on hold in July following an internal review. The firm instead invested 10 billion won in Modhaus, the agency behind tripleS, which reported 32.3 billion won in revenue last year and annual album sales of 1.16 million copies.
Industry observers reportedly believe ooak’s high valuation, combined with its lack of artists and ongoing legal disputes involving HYBE and ADOR, weighed on the decision.
Meanwhile, the first hearing in the appeal over Min’s put-option lawsuit against HYBE is scheduled for September 18th. The first trial recognized a claim worth approximately 25.5 billion won. ADOR is also pursuing a damages lawsuit worth roughly 33.09 billion won against Danielle, her family and Min.
>> Min Hee Jin Officially Unveils Ooak Records After NewJeans Split, Teases New Era
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