Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, owned by Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin, has bought Hollywood production company, Legendary Entertainment for $3.5 billion. Wang controlled Dalian Wanda Group’s purchase of Legendary Entertainment, which marks it as China’s largest cultural acquisition overseas to date.
Wang’s backing gives Legendary Entertainment, led by Thomas Tull, access to funds needed to produce the sequel of the hit movies “Pacific Rim” and “Godzilla” franchises. In 2014, Legendary Entertainment raised $250 million from Japan’s Softbank Group Corp and was said to have borrowed $700 million last year.
Wanda is already the world’s biggest movie theater operator, having bought AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc, North America’s second-largest cinema chain, for $2.6 billion in 2012. It also owns Australian movie theater company Hoyt’s Group, and Wanda Cinema Line Corp, the group’s domestically listed firm, which is the biggest theater operator in China. Legendary Entertainment is behind the hit movies, “The Dark Knight”, “Man of Steel”, “The Hangover” and the “Jurassic World”.
