Chinese developer Dalian Wanda to acquire majority stake in Legendary Entertainment

Deal values the movie studio at between $3B and $4B: report

From left: Wang Jianlin and a poster for "Jurassic World"
From left: Wang Jianlin and a poster for "Jurassic World"

Dalian Wanda Group, one of China’s largest developers and owner of AMC Theaters, made another move into the Western media market.

The firm – headed by China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin – will buy a majority stake in Legendary Entertainment, the film studio behind such titles as “Jurassic World,” “The Dark Knight,” “Man of Steel,” and others.

The deal values the Burbank, Calif.-based company at between $3 billion and $4 billion, Reuters reported.

Wanda, which made about $38.8 billion in revenue in 2014, has bought a handful of Western real estate and media properties over the last few years.

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As of June 2015, Wanda owned seven major real estate properties abroad, in London, Madrid, Los Angeles, Chicago and Sydney. It bought AMC Entertainment Holdings, which controls the second-largest theater chain in the U.S. in 2012 for $2.6 billion.

It also owns British yacht maker Sunseeker and Swiss sports marketing firm Infront Sports & media.

The firm doesn’t own any real estate properties in New York, and recently closed its only office here, at 1330 Sixth Avenue. [Reuters]Ariel Stulberg

Correction: AMC Entertainment Holdings is the second-largest theater chain in the United States, not the largest.