China's Wanda in talks to buy AMC Entertainment

Wanda Group is considering buying some or all of US-based AMC Entertainment Inc, a purchase that would make it the first Chinese theater company to have a major presence in the US, Los Angeles Times reported, quoting two people familiar with the matter. Negotiations have intensified in past weeks after AMC pulled the plug on a planned stock offering to raise as much as US$450 million to pay off debt, said the sources. AMC has 5,048 screens in 347 theaters in the US and Canada and is the second-largest movie theater chain in the US, while Wanda is China’s largest theater group. The deal would give AMC greater access to the Chinese market, which last year generated more box office receipts than any country except Japan yet is still closed to most foreign movies.