Chinese Owner Of AMC Theaters Buying Dick Clark Productions For $1B

As it was buzzed about, so it has come to pass: Chinese entertainment giant Dalian Wanda Group is buying Dick Clark Productions for $1 billion.

Wanda says in a statement that existing management at DCP “will remain in its entirety,” the Associated Press reports, and that both sides had reached a long-term operating agreement.

The Chinese company has been making a steady push into entertainment in recent years, so this move makes sense: Wanda already owns AMC Theaters, a media company called Legendary Entertainment (which it bought for $3.5 billion in January), and last month, announced a deal with Sony Pictures.

This acquisition will give it control not only over ABC’s New Year’s Eve programming, but also programs like the American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, and the Miss America pageant.

As such, Wanda says it’s expecting to find ways to coordinate between DCP and its other properties in film, tourism, and sports.

China’s Wanda buys Dick Clark Productions for $1 billion [Associated Press]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist