The
deal, announced in Beijing, is one of the biggest purchases of an
American company by a Chinese company. It deepens Wanda’s investment in
the global movie business, joining its cinema chains with a company that
produces blockbuster-style movies that include “Pacific Rim,” “Man of
Steel” and “Jurassic World.”
The
acquisition is the latest in a series of spectacular moves into the
entertainment business by Wang Jianlin, China’s wealthiest man, a former
soldier and a member of the Communist Party. In 2012 Wanda purchased AMC Theatres, the American cinema chain, for $2.6 billion, and in 2013 it began construction of a mammoth $8.2 billion studio complex in eastern China, flying in stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and John Travolta to mark the occasion.
In
a statement, Wanda said that the purchase would help Legendary
“increase its market opportunities” in China’s movie market, where
government censors block some films from entering and strict quotas
limit the number of Hollywood films that can be shown each year. Wanda
owns China’s biggest cinema chain in addition to AMC, whose screens are
mostly in the United States. News of the possible purchase was first
reported last week.
Relatives
and business associates of four current or former members of the
Communist Party’s ruling Politburo, including the older sister and
brother-in-law of President Xi Jinping, acquired stakes in two of Mr.
Wang’s companies before share sales in late 2014 and early 2015. They
collectively owned shares that were worth more than $1.5 billion in
April of last year.
Mr. Wang, speaking at Harvard University in October,
said Mr. Xi’s relatives sold their stake before his flagship company’s
initial public offering in December 2014, though he offered no details
or documentation.
By:
Review: Emerging Market Formulations & Research Unit, Flagship Records.
For The #FacebookTeam