Chinese property conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group Co. Ltd. is planning on listing its film production and distribution arm within a year, according to the company’s founder, Wang Jianlin.
In an interview with Caixin Weekly financial magazine, Wang, who is also China's richest man, said that the company is also mulling the option of making the unit part of another listed subsidiary.
"Once they go public, it will prompt even higher growth and position us at the top of all parts of the business chain," Wang said.
With nearly 2,000 screens, Wanda's cinema unit is China's largest. The company's film production and distribution operations have also been taking in more market share despite being relatively new in the sector. In January, the company was the first of its kind to go public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Liu Cuiping, research director at consulting firm Entgroup, said that the potential listings are further evidence that Wanda is looking to become a major player in the entertainment industry "comparable to those in Hollywood."
"The company already has a mature business in every part of the industry chain, and going public will provide it with more capital," Liu said, although noting that Wanda does have a lot of big competitors in China such as the China Film Group Corp.
Wang also told Caixin that the group will cut down its property assets and has plans to launch real estate investment trusts overseas as well as a similar product in the local market.
The property developer has also been diversifying its portfolio into sport.
Earlier this month, Wanda entered a $650 million merger with World Triathlon Corp. to create the world's largest sports company. It also purchased Swiss sports marketing group Sports & Media for 1.05 billion euros ($1.2 billion) as well as a 20-percent stake in Spanish soccer team Atletico Madrid.
The company also completed the high-profile acquisition of Los Angeles-based AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. for around $2.6 billion in 2012, further improving its footing in the international film industry.
"Back then, we were nervous about acquiring AMC since it was our first overseas investment," Wang said. "But the price was really good. It doesn't matter that it has suffered losses; we can turn it around."