Wanda to Buy Controlling Stake in Legendary Studios for $3.5 Billion

Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group will buy a controlling stake in Hollywood film studio Legendary Entertainment in a deal valued at $3.5 billion.

The announcement, made at a press conference by both companies in Beijing, comes after a week of rumors about a possible deal.

Wanda is the world’s biggest movie theatre operator with a majority stake in the US chain AMC.

The rapidly growing group is led by China’s richest man Wang Jianlin.

Wang Jianlin has been looking to buy a Hollywood studio for several years and was reported to be in talks with DreamWorks Animation in 2015, but a deal was not announced.

Legendary is the maker of blockbuster hits such as Jurassic World, the Dark Knight Batman trilogy and Godzilla.

Chairman and CEO Thomas Tull, who also started the company, will remain as the head of the studio.

Wanda described the deal as “China’s largest cross-border cultural acquisition to date”. It is aimed at increasing ties between Hollywood and the world’s fastest growing movie market, China.

The Chinese conglomerate said that Legendary’s films have grossed over $12 billion globally.

Wang Jianlinsaid he plans to pair the Hollywood studio with its in-house film production unit and make a stock market listing. A timeline for the launch an initial public offering (IPO) was not given.

Wanda had released its earnings report a day earlier and said that its revenue rose 19% in 2015 from a year ago on a surge of sales in its leisure and financial businesses.