HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) - MERGER OF FEVERS. Friday’s $1 billion acquisition of U.S. musical talent manager Ithaca won’t just unite two of the industry’s biggest phenoms this century under the same roof – Justin Bieber and K-Pop’s BTS. It also will test the limits of how much investors swoon over the fortunes of acquirer HYBE. Shares in the company formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment are now double last October’s much-hyped initial public offering. And they have jumped some 15% since the merger was unveiled, adding roughly the value of the deal itself to HYBE’s market worth, which now stands at $8.8 billion. HYBE is growing fast – earnings may more than double this year, per Refinitiv. And the merger will diversify its portfolio with artists from Ariana Grande to Demi Lovato. But the stock now trades at 53 times estimated 2021 earnings – a significant premium to competitors including YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and SM Entertainment. That’s enough to start rattling some eardrums. (By Sharon Lam)