Wanda's plan to purchase Legendary Pictures may be officially announced next Tuesday

The reporter learned today that the specific acquisition status of Wanda Group's acquisition of Legendary Pictures may be officially announced next Tuesday. Analysts believe: "The acquisition of Legendary Pictures will give Wanda a shot in the arm for its film industry."

Reporters learned today that Wanda Group will add a world-class new force-Legendary Pictures-to its cultural industry landscape. The specific acquisition status may be officially announced next Tuesday.

As early as 2012, Wanda Group had spent US$3.1 billion to acquire a 100% stake in AMC, the second largest theater operator in the United States; in 2015, Wanda Cinema, a listed company under Wanda Group, wholly acquired Australia's second largest theater company for 2.246 billion yuan. Company Hoyts. While aggressively acquiring overseas theater assets, Wanda is turning its attention to upstream film and television production this time to further extend the overseas asset chain.

Regarding the content of the transaction, several foreign media reported on January 5 that Wanda Group would purchase a controlling stake in Legendary Entertainment of the United States. In this transaction, Legendary Entertainment's valuation ranged from US$3 billion to US$4 billion. In the eyes of foreign media: "This may be an important turning point in Hollywood's future." When the reporter asked Wanda Group for details, the other party still kept it confidential and only said "see you next Tuesday."

Data shows that Legendary Pictures was founded in 2004. It is an independent film production company in the United States and a well-known Hollywood film company. Its parent company is Legendary Entertainment. "The Dark Knight","Jurassic Park","Superman: Body of Steel","Inception", and the 2014 remakes of "Godzilla" and "The Hangover" are all produced by the company, and they have all achieved good box office success in the mainland. In China, Legendary Pictures has had a good influence and has co-produced many films with China Film Corporation. Among them, this includes the science fiction blockbuster "The Great Wall", which will be released in 2016. The film stars Matt Damon and Andy Lau and is directed by Zhang Yimou. It is expected to be released during the 2016 New Year holiday.

Analysts believe: "The acquisition of Legendary Pictures will give Wanda a shot in the arm for its film industry." With the previous two acquisitions, Wanda has become the world's largest theater operator. As of the third quarter of 2015, Wanda Cinema has 207 theaters and 1849 screens in China, and nearly 600 theaters and more than 7000 screens around the world. Block screens have formed a strong scale effect. In fact, as early as June 2015, Wang Jianlin had contact with Legendary Pictures, and at the end of the year, it was reported that Wanda was considering acquiring part of Legendary Pictures 'shares.

It is worth mentioning that in November last year, Wang Jianlin publicly stated that Wanda's film production and distribution business plans to go public in the next year. "We have not yet made a final decision on whether the two parts of the film production and distribution business will be listed separately or packaged." Wang Jianlin said,"Listing will promote faster development of the film industry and place us at the top end of this industry chain." At present, Wanda already has an A-share listed company in Wanda Theater Line, and Wanda Commercial's A-shares are halfway through its return. So, whether the future film production and distribution business will continue to choose A-shares is worthy of market expectations.

Editor: vian