Japan's Usen Corp, parent of Gaga Communications, has acquired an 8.57% stakein CJ Media Japan, a foreign affiliate of Korea's CJ Media, for a reported $2.53m (Y300m).

Usen stated that itsinvestment in CJ Media Japan, which was established last August, was to furtherdevelop the sharing and distribution of contents produced by both countries andto solidify the partnership between Usen, its subsidiary Gaga and CJ Media, thetelevision arm of Korea's CJ Corp.

CJ Media will support theKorean theatrical releases of films produced by Gaga, possibly through TVpromotion.

The investment will alsoprovide Usen with content for its free online movie and TV streaming serviceGyaO. Launched a year ago, the service offers broadband users a selection ofchannels that stream Hollywood, foreign and domestic films, documentaries and TVprogramming, with various functions to customise viewing.

Seoul-based CJ Entertainmentwas delisted in January and now focuses solely on film investment anddistribution. Group companies CJ Media, CJ CGV (exhibition) and CJ Internetwere moved into a holding company managed by CJ Corp.