Recon CEO Tony Xia Jiantong previously made headlines after his acquisition of the Aston Villa football club for $87 million in 2016. (Photo : Getty Images)
China's reach in the U.S. film industry just took another step following a Chinese wire and cable manufacturer's acquisition of a controlling stake in independent studio Millennium Films.
Recon Holding said on Thursday that it has bought a 51 percent stake in Millennium, whose films include the "Rambo" and "The Expendables" series, for $100 million.
The company, based in Yixing near Shanghai, is controlled by CEO Tony Xia Jiantong, who previously made headlines last year when he bought the cash-strapped English soccer club Aston Villa with ambitious plans to turn its fortunes around.
The terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter of this year, will give Recon ownership of Millennium and its archive of 300 films.
The studio is known for its action titles, including 2008's "Rambo," the fourth and latest installment of the Sylvester Stallone franchise, "The Expendables" films, and "London Has Fallen."
Chinese investors and Hollywood executives are in a flurry of deal-making in recent years as both sides seek to expand in each other's movie industries.
Chinese companies' eye their investments in Hollywood as an opportunity to leverage its filmmaking expertise and spread the country's cultural influence across the globe, also known as "soft power."
Hollywood, meanwhile, covets China's highly lucrative box office as domestic earnings have hit a slump.
In the past year, Chinese companies have made deals with their entertainment counterparts in the West, including Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Legendary Entertainment, and Dick Clark Studios.
Xia owns Recon Holding through his conglomerate Recon Group. One of his companies, Lotus Health Group, is the world's second-biggest producer of the food additive monosodium glutamate (MSG). Another Recon subsidiary manufactures digital hardware for urban infrastructure.
Xia was a little-known Harvard- and MIT-educated businessman until his $87 million purchase of Aston Villa, making a considerable splash in the sports and business sectors as he had no previous soccer credentials.
