Kakao Corporation announced a plan to secure up to 35 percent of SM Entertainment shares through a tender offer in its ongoing boardroom battle with Hybe for control of the K-pop powerhouse.

In a statement on Tuesday, Kakao and its entertainment unit, Kakao Entertainment Corporation, publicly offered to purchase eight-point-33 million shares of the management company at 150-thousand won each through March 26.

The tech giant said that a stable partnership with SM can only be maintained by becoming its biggest shareholder, pledging to reinforce the global competitiveness of the two companies by merging information technology and intellectual property.

Kakao's tender offer price of 150-thousand won is higher than the 120-thousand won put forth by Hybe last month as it sought to obtain a maximum 25-percent stake, as well as SM’s closing price of 130-thousand-100-won the previous day.

Hybe's plan to gain control through a tender offer was unsuccessful, with the K-pop competitor purchasing less than one percent in additional shares.

Should Kakao succeed, its 35-percent stake would outweigh the 19-point-four percent held by Hybe, which bought shares from SM founder Lee Soo-man.

Kakao's latest move follows a Seoul court's ruling that blocked SM's planned issuance of new shares and convertible bonds to Kakao Entertainment that would allow the company to obtain a nine-point-05-percent stake.