Property conglomerate Dalian Wanda has agreed to acquire a majority stake in US-based film studio and comic book producer Legendary Entertainment, Reuters reported yesterday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Although the source did not disclose the amount Wanda is investing, they revealed it will own just over half of Legendary, which will be valued at between $3bn and $4bn. Telecommunications firm SoftBank and investment firm Waddell & Reed will exit Legendary through the deal.
Launched in 2004, Legendary is best known for the string of blockbusters it has produced in partnership with Warner Bros, including DC franchise films Man of Steel and The Dark Knight, sci-fi film Interstellar and the Hangover trilogy.
The studio switched to co-producing films with Universal in 2014, most notably Jurassic World, the highest grossing film worldwide last year. It signed a co-production agreement with China Film Co in 2013, and also runs a comic book arm called Legendary Comics.
Legendary raised an initial $500m in private equity in 2004 before those investors were bought out by company founder Thomas Tull, Fidelity Investments and Fortress Investment Group the following year.
Accel Partners invested $40m in Legendary before Waddell and Reid paid $443m for a 20% stake in 2012. SoftBank acquired a stake sized between 7.5% and 10% in October 2014 in return for $250m.
Dalian Wanda’s core business lies in property development, though it is also China’s largest cinema operator, having acquired US-based cinema chain AMC Entertainment in 2012.
Wanda has begun investing heavily in China’s commerce and entertainment sectors as late, providing funding for online ticketing platforms Weiying Technology and Mtime, as well as local reviews platform Dianping and sports streaming platform LeTV Sports.