Wanda Group buys US film studio Legendary Entertainment for $3.5bn

Conglomerate Wanda Group will pay US$3.5 billion for US film studio Legendary Entertainment in the Chinese firm’s largest deal to date, The Financial Times reported. The unlisted company had reported Tuesday that revenue had grown to RMB290.16 billion (US$44 billion) in 2015, up 19.1% from the previous year, with cinema unit Wanda Cinema Line recording 49.9% revenue growth to RMB8 billion (US$1.216 billion) last year. Wanda founder Wang Jianlin previously acquired US cinema chain AMC Entertainment in 2012, and the Legendary acquisition marks another strategic advance into the film industry. The group’s movie theater arm Wanda Cinema Line now holds 14.5% of the Chinese box office