Dalian Wanda of China Buys Legendary Entertainment for Up to $3.5 Billion
By MICHAEL FORSYTHEJAN

HONG KONG — The Dalian Wanda Group, a politically powerful property and entertainment company in China, said on Tuesday that it was buying Legendary Entertainment, one of Hollywood’s biggest movie production companies, for as much as $3.5 billion.

The deal, announced in Beijing, is one of the biggest purchases of an American company by a Chinese company. It deepens Wanda’s investment in the global movie business, joining its cinema chains with a company that produces blockbuster-style movies that include “Pacific Rim,” “Man of Steel” and “Jurassic World.”

The acquisition is the latest in a series of spectacular moves into the entertainment business by Wang Jianlin, China’s wealthiest man, a former soldier and a member of the Communist Party. In 2012 Wanda purchased AMC Theaters, the American cinema chain, for $2.6 billion, and in 2013 it began construction of a mammoth $8.2 billion studio complex in eastern China, flying in stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and John Travolta to mark the occasion.

In a statement, Wanda said that the purchase would help Legendary “increase its market opportunities” in China’s movie market, where government censors block some films from entering and strict quotas limit the number of Hollywood films that can be shown each year. Wanda owns China’s biggest cinema chain in addition to AMC, whose screens are mostly in the United States. News of the possible purchase was first reported last week.

Relatives and business associates of four current or former members of the Communist Party’s ruling Politburo, including the older sister and brother-in-law of President Xi Jinping, acquired stakes in two of Mr. Wang’s companies before share sales in late 2014 and early 2015. They collectively owned shares that were worth more than $1.5 billion in April of last year.

Mr. Wang, speaking at Harvard University in October, said Mr. Xi’s relatives sold their stake before his flagship company’s initial public offering in December 2014, though he offered no details or documentation.

豪擲35億美元 陸首富王健林攻下好萊塢

中國大陸首富王健林再度出手，這回他豪擲35億美元進軍好萊塢，創下迄今陸資企業在海外最大的文化產業併購案，萬達也將成為好萊塢影視製作公司第一個大陸老闆。

王健林旗下的萬達集團昨在北京宣布此一收購案，曾打造「蝙蝠俠」、「侏羅紀世界」、「哥吉拉」等知名大片的美國傳奇影業，將具有中國血統。這是王健林繼2012年以26億美元收購北美第二大院線AMC娛樂公司，衝擊美國影業後，再次大動作擴張電影王國版圖。海內外媒體都報導了這個消息。

萬達從房地產起家，成為中國民營企業的龍頭企業。王健林表示，美國與中國是全球第一、第二大的電影市場，併購傳奇影業後，萬達影視控股公司已成為全球收入最大的電影企業，擁有極大的影響力；透過萬達打造的電影製作、院線、發行產業鏈，將大幅提升萬達在全球電影行業的核心競爭力和話語權。到去年8月底，萬達在中國擁有202家戲院、1800個銀幕。

王健林和台灣頗有淵源，萬達電影院曾是力挺台灣國片「賽德克．巴萊」的推手之一。當時「賽」片在大陸上映票房冷清，引進該片的萬達院線宣布連續一周、以專廳全天候放映，搶救票房。

王健林去年來台受訪時曾透露，有意在台灣投資旅遊產業。他說，大陸前國台辦主任陳雲林曾介紹過一個項目給他，可惜後來沒談成；如果台灣有機會，他將選擇投資高端酒店、旅遊產業，這是萬達強項，目前還沒有合作對象。

不過，王健林否認併購傳奇影業在增強北京的文化影響力。他表示，政府軟實力是屬於另外一個層面的事情，他的興趣主要集中在商業方面。

傳奇影業曾出品「蝙蝠俠」系列、「環太平洋」、「侏儸紀公園」、「超人：鋼鐵英雄」、「醉後大丈夫」系列」、「全面啟動」、「星際效應」等大片，在全球累積逾120億美元票房。

王健林說，萬達集團正打造電影製作、院線、發行產業鏈，萬達併購傳奇影業後，能創造更多市場機會，尤其在成長迅猛的大陸電影市場，業績也將高速成長。根據合作協議，傳奇影業董事會主席兼CEO湯瑪斯將留任，繼續負責公司的日常經營。2016年，傳奇影業將推出改編自線上遊戲的電影「魔獸世界」，以及由張藝謀執導、麥特戴蒙等人主演，中美合拍的懸疑驚悚片「長城」。

面對大陸房地產、製造業的投資獲利不若以往，影視產業挾互聯網及政策全力發展文化產業優勢，成為中國大陸富豪的淘金新寵。向來看好大陸電影產業前景的王健林曾預計，2018年大陸電影票房將會超過北美，而2023年大陸電影市場將是北美市場的兩倍。

除了王健林，阿里巴巴馬雲在電影產業的布局也馬不停蹄，兩人上演電影業的「首富之爭」備受矚目。此外，騰訊馬化騰、小米雷軍，以及百度李彥宏都已在電影圈嶄露頭角。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/13/business/dealbook/china-dalian-wanda-legendary-entertainment.html

紐約時報中文版節譯：
http://cn.nytimes.com/business/20160112/cc12db-legendary/zh-hant/

2016-01-13．聯合報．A12．兩岸．記者郭玫君、汪莉絹