AMC Entertainment, after years of negotiations, finally acquired British-owned Odeon and UCI Cinemas. AMC is an American chain owned by a Dalian Wanda, a Chinese conglomerate. The acquisition was valued at $1.21 billion.
Odeon and UCI, owned by a private equity firm called Terra Firma, has 242 theaters and 2,236 movie screens.
China's richest man, Wang Jianlin, owns Dalian Wanda. Wang is a former member of the People's Liberation Army. He founded Wanda in 1988 and became a real estate giant in China.
"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to acquire Europe's leading cinema chain and create the world's biggest and best theatre operator," said Adam Aron, AMC's chief executive.
The purchase of Odeon and UCI now makes AMC the operator of 627 theaters with 7,600 screens in 8 countries.
AMC is an entertainment empire that owns cinemas crucial for global movie distribution.
According to David Hancock, head of film and cinema at IHS Technology, "AMC is part of the Wanda group, which includes screens in China, AMC in the US, Hoyts in Australia and now Odeon UCI in Europe. All major exhibitors in their part of the world and making Wanda the largest global cinema exhibition group."
Aside from the empire's massive investment in cinemas, Wanda built the largest film production studio in China. It acquired Legacy Entertainment and put a significant amount of capital for entertainment marketing and gaming distribution.
Legacy Entertainment is the production outfit behind movies like Jurassic World and the Dark Knight Batman Trilogy.
Wanda's tourism and entertainment sectors are making breakthroughs in theme parks and yacht manufacturing. The conglomerate recently acquired the British luxury yacht manufacturer, Sunseeker.