A subsidiary of Chinese real estate developer-turned-financier Oceanwide Holdings Co. Ltd. announced plans to invest 2.5 billion yuan ($384 million) in two media and film companies owned by Chinese property giant Dalian Wanda Group Corp. Ltd.
Oceanwide Equity Investment Management Ltd. is planning to acquire 6.61 percent of Wanda Pictures and Qingdao Wanda Pictures, China Daily reported on Tuesday.
Wanda Pictures is expected to be publicly listed in a projected fundraising round worth 10 billion yuan, which suggests a valuation of 34.5 billion yuan for the company, the report said citing sources from Oceanwide. Wanda has already listed its Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co. Ltd. and Wanda Cinemas businesses.
Founded in 1989, Oceanwide engages in real estate, finance, energy, culture and media, and strategic investment businesses. It began trading on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 1994 and has assets worth 70.8 billion yuan.
In February, Wanda Pictures had a valuation of 1.66 billion yuan, with net assets worth 1.08 billion yuan.
Wanda said in January it had plans to acquire Hollywood studio Legendary Entertainment for $3.5 billion, after which it would further integrate its domestic and international film businesses and resources.
Oceanwide said its stake acquisitions would help bolster the company in the culture and media sector as well as increase its total value.
China's film sector has been flourishing in recent years. In February, the homegrown fantasy film "The Mermaid" pulled in a single-month revenue of 3.3 billion yuan, making it the country's most successful movie title.
In 2015, Chinese movie revenues reached 44 billion yuan, a 48.7-percent annual rise on 2014, thanks to 1.26 billion moviegoers, a 51.08-percent annual surge.
The Oceanwide announcement comes just days after AMC Entertainment, a production firm of recent Academy Award-winning film Spotlight, which Wanda Group purchased in 2012, announced that it is acquiring Carmike Cinemas for $1.1 billion to create the world's largest cinema chain. The merger will result in the biggest movie theater chain in North America, with 2,954 screens in the region and 5,426 worldwide.