Wang Jianlin, chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, speaks during a signing ceremony with U.S. film studio Legendary Entertainment in Beijing, January 12, 2016. Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group has bought U.S. film studio Legendary Entertainment for about $3.5 billion, turning its chairman into a Hollywood movie mogul as China's richest man steps up a drive to diversify his business empire overseas. REUTERS/China Daily
BEIJING: China's property-to-entertainment conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy a controlling stake in Hollywood movie studio Legendary Entertainment in a deal worth about US$3.5 billion.
Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin, China's richest man, said at a news conference in Beijing that the Chinese firm was acquiring Legendary Entertainment for both intellectual property reasons and the studio's movies.
A person familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this month a deal had been agreed.
Wanda is already the world's biggest movie theatre operator, controlling AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc, North America's second-largest cinema chain, and Australian movie theatre company Hoyt's Group.
Wanda Cinema Line Corp, the group's domestically listed firm, is the biggest theatre operator in China. - Reuters
