Foreign media: Wanda Group may acquire minority stake in Hollywood Legendary Entertainment

According to foreign media reports, China entertainment and real estate giant Dalian Wanda Group may be close to getting a bigger piece of Hollywood. According to people familiar with the matter, Dalian Wanda Group, which already owns American theater chain operator AMC Entertainment Holdings, is in talks to acquire a minority stake in American film and television company Legendary Entertainment.

In the early morning of December 10, Beijing time, according to the Wall Street Journal, China entertainment and real estate giant Dalian Wanda Group may be close to getting a bigger piece of Hollywood.

According to a source familiar with the matter, it already owns the American theater chain operator AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. Dalian Wanda Group is in talks to acquire a minority stake in US film and television company Legendary Entertainment. The source added that the two companies have not yet made a final decision on specific financial terms or how the two parties will cooperate.

Dalian Wanda Group disclosed on its website that its chairman Wang Jianlin met with Thomas Tull, CEO of Legendary Entertainment, in June.

In China, Dalian Wanda Group is already a household name, but now the group is hoping to increase its popularity in the international market, with the ambition to become a global film giant. Over the past few years, the Beijing-based company has negotiated with a number of Hollywood studios, including Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., known for "The Hunger Games." etc., the purpose is to seek mergers and acquisitions and cooperation.

At the same time, Legendary Entertainment has always been one of the Hollywood film and television companies most actively exploring the China market. In 2013, Legendary Entertainment teamed up with China Film Group Corporation to form a joint venture Legendary East, which is committed to creating high-budget films in China that target a global audience. The first film produced by Legendary Oriental,"The Great Wall," starring Matt Damon, will be released in November next year.

Legendary Entertainment was previously best known for financing films such as "The Dark Knight","The Hangover" and "Jurassic World", but in the past few years the company has begun making its own films, such as "Godzilla","Seventh Son" and the just-launched "Krampus." In addition, Legendary Entertainment has also established TV and digital businesses.

If Legend Entertainment reaches a deal with Dalian Wanda Group, it will bring stronger connections to the former in the China market and will also allow Dalian Wanda Group to move one step further in the Hollywood world. Previously, Legendary Entertainment had already partnered with Comcast Corp. Its subsidiary Universal Pictures has reached a multi-year commercial partnership agreement.

Earlier this year, Wanda Cinema, a theater division of Dalian Wanda Group, said it planned to cooperate with China Internet giant Tencent (Hong Kong Stock Exchange ticker: 0700) to expand its film division and take more marketing and promotional measures. In addition, Tencent has also invested in the movie work of Legendary Entertainment's video game "Warcraft", which will be launched next year.

Dalian Wanda Group has previously begun to provide financing for Hollywood films, such as providing a full production budget of approximately US$30 million for the recent boxing film "Southpaw," which was produced by Weinstein Co. Produced.

Last year, Legendary Entertainment welcomed another important investor: SoftBank of Japan. SoftBank bought a 10% stake in Legendary Entertainment for $250 million and has the right to invest a further $750 million in the next few years. In addition, the two companies have also formed a joint venture that will focus on publishing Legendary Entertainment's film and television content on major digital platforms in Asia.

Editor: vian