News Corp (NWSA.NASDAQ), the owner of 20th Century Fox film studio, plans to acquire a 19.9% stake in Chinese film distributor Bona Film Group (BONA.NASDAQ) in a bid to gain more access to China’s booming film market, The Wall Street Journal reported. Bona founder and Chief Executive Yu Dong is selling the stake directly to News Corp, Bona said. Neither News Corp or Bona Film disclosed financial terms of the deal. Hollywood companies have been eager to gain a foothold in China; box-office revenue in the country climbed 29% last year to RMB13.1 billion (US$2.08 billion), while it fell 4% in the US and Canada to US$10.2 billion. China’s film market remains tightly restricted, though Beijing agreed in February to expand the quota for movie imports to 34 from 20 and to allow additional 3-D and IMAX movies.
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