China's Wanda Group sells stake to film and TV producer Ruyi Holdings to pay off debt
China's Wanda Group sells stake to film and TV producer Ruyi Holdings to pay off debt
July 23, 2023 9:23 p.m.
Dalian Wanda Group is selling a 49% stake in its investment arm to local film and TV producer China Ruyi Holdings as part of an ongoing effort to reduce debt.
Wanda is selling the Beijing Wanda Investment stake for $315 million (RMB 2.26 billion) as part of fundraising efforts to repay the $400 billion debt owed last weekend.
Wanda Investment owns a 20% stake in the group's Shenzhen-listed entertainment division Wanda Film, which operates a movie theater chain in China, finances Chinese films and retains a stake in Dune producer Legendary Entertainment.
Earlier this month, Wanda Investment separately sold an 8.3% stake in Wanda Film for $306,000 (RMB 2.2 billion). The buyer was Lu Lili, the wife of Shen Jun, controller of financial data platform East Money Information.
Ruyi, backed by Tencent, is investing in films including recent hit comedy Post Truth and hit franchise Detective Chinatown, as well as TV series like Nirvana In Fire.
Dalian Wanda, a property developer turned entertainment conglomerate controlled by billionaire Wang Jianlin, once had big ambitions in Hollywood – with plans to invest in American studios and acquire North American movie chain AMC Theaters and Legendary Entertainment.
However, the group was hit by the Chinese authorities' crackdown on heavily indebted companies in 2017 and subsequently sold its Chinese studios and theme parks, its Los Angeles real estate development and most of its stake in AMC. Legendary brought in outside capital to private equity group Apollo last year.
China's ongoing debt problems in the commercial real estate sector and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the exhibition sector have weighed more heavily on Dalian Wanda in recent years. She is also looking for a buyer for her Australian cinema chain Hoyts.
Dalian Wanda Group is selling a 49% stake in its investment arm to local film and TV producer China Ruyi Holdings as part of an ongoing effort to reduce debt.
Wanda is selling the Beijing Wanda Investment stake for $315 million (RMB 2.26 billion) as part of fundraising efforts to repay the $400 billion debt owed last weekend.
Wanda Investment owns a 20% stake in the group's Shenzhen-listed entertainment division Wanda Film, which operates a movie theater chain in China, finances Chinese films and retains a stake in Dune producer Legendary Entertainment.
Earlier this month, Wanda Investment separately sold an 8.3% stake in Wanda Film for $306,000 (RMB 2.2 billion). The buyer was Lu Lili, the wife of Shen Jun, controller of financial data platform East Money Information.
Ruyi, backed by Tencent, is investing in films including recent hit comedy Post Truth and hit franchise Detective Chinatown, as well as TV series like Nirvana In Fire.
Dalian Wanda, a property developer turned entertainment conglomerate controlled by billionaire Wang Jianlin, once had big ambitions in Hollywood – with plans to invest in American studios and acquire North American movie chain AMC Theaters and Legendary Entertainment.
However, the group was hit by the Chinese authorities' crackdown on heavily indebted companies in 2017 and subsequently sold its Chinese studios and theme parks, its Los Angeles real estate development and most of its stake in AMC. Legendary brought in outside capital to private equity group Apollo last year.
China's ongoing debt problems in the commercial real estate sector and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the exhibition sector have weighed more heavily on Dalian Wanda in recent years. She is also looking for a buyer for her Australian cinema chain Hoyts.
