China's Richest Man Sets His Sights on the Golden Globes and Miss America
China’s richest man Wang Jianlin reportedly has his sights set on Dick Clark Productions, the company behind the Golden Globe Awards, American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and So You Think You Can Dance.
Wang’s latest foray into Hollywood is expected to cost a cool USD 1 billion dollars for his company, the property-to-entertainment conglomerate, Dalian Wanda. The eye-popping price-tag is almost three times what Dick Clark was last sold for in 2012.
The possible deal follows last week’s announcement of a major motion-picture team-up with Sony which could see Wanda invest in a handful of films, including Spider-Man: Homecoming (蜘蛛侠：归来).
Wanda snapped up Legendary Entertainment, producer of blockbusters including Jurassic World and Pacific Rim, for a whopping 3.5 billion earlier this year. Prior to that Wanda used its AMC Entertainment to buy European exhibitor Odeon & UCI Cinemas for USD 1.2 billion.
Wang’s voracious appetite for Hollywood assets is beginning to rankle some with 16 members of congress recently calling for greater scrutiny of China’s investments in American entertainment companies. The letter cited Wanda’s purchase of Legendary and AMC and expressed “growing concerns” about the potential for Chinese censorship and propaganda in Hollywood movies.
In an interview on Chinese television earlier last month, Wang said he hopes to "change the world where rules are set by foreigners." The tycoon reacted aggressively to Disney’s push into the mainland with its Shanghai Disney Resort telling media “One tiger is no match for a pack of wolves – Shanghai has one Disney, while Wanda, across the nation, will open 15 to 20.”
And Wang’s Hollywood asset buying binge is far from over. The item he has coveted the most – one of the so-called "big six" Hollywood studios – has so far eluded him. Wanda was in talks to buy a 49 percent stake in Paramount Pictures this summer, but it fell through at the last minute.
It looks like it’s only a matter of time till it happens though. As Wang told Reuters last month: “Only the six are real global film companies, while the rest are not. If we are to build a real movie empire, this is a necessary step.”
Photo: dickclark.com