China's entertainment giant sets out its course to Hollywood purchasing studio Legendary, the maker of Jurassic World, for $3.5 billion.
According to the firm, the deal was "China's largest cross-border cultural acquisition to date". This makes Wanda group the first ever Chinese company to own a major Hollywood studio.
Wanda, headed by China's wealthiest man, Wang Jianlin, started its business in real estate, but later on diversified into the entertainment industry. It is currently the world's largest movie theatre operator after buying AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. for $2.6 billion in 2012. AMC Entertainment is the second biggest cinema chain in North America. The firm also owns Hoyt's group, a movie outfit in Australia. In China, it is represented by Wanda Cinema Line Corp, which is the major movie operator in their country.
The deal, announced on Tuesday, reveals that Wanda is purchasing the majority stake in Legendary but that Legendary founder and CEO Thomas Tull will remain as head. According to Reuters, Tull told reporters, "that he would continue to run daily operations and that Wang had been 'insistent we run operations and continue to run things the way we always have."
Established in 2000, Legendary is behind the hit movies "Batman Begins", "10,000 BC", "The Dark Knight", "The Dark Knight Rises", "Man of Steel, "Ninja Assasin", "The Hangover", "Clash of the Titans", "Wrath of the Titans", "Godzilla", "Sucker Punch", and "Inception.
Wang stated in Reuter's report, "Wanda Cinema already has made tremendous development in China, but it isn't enough. Movies are global, and our company certainly wants to add our voice to the world film market."
Legendary's acquisition is the newest in a string of overseas investments made by Wanda. And with an estimate 20 percent revenue increase in 2015, in spite of waning economic conditions in China, we are convinced that it is only a matter of time before this entertainment mogul becomes a Hollywood hit.
