(March 31): From Hollywood to FIFA and France, billionaire Wang Jianlin has announced more than US$25 billion ($31.96 billion) of investments and acquisitions during the first quarter of 2016, turning the Chinese tycoon into one of the world’s most prolific dealmakers this year.
The latest one involves the proposed privatization of Wang’s Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co. unit in a deal worth at least HK$31.3 billion ($5.11 billion), which sent the property developer’s stock surging as much as 22 percent in Hong Kong trading on Thursday and could pave the way for the company to relocate its listing to the mainland A-share market.
There may be more to come as Wang, China’s richest man in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, predicted in January that he would pursue five "substantial" acquisitions -- three of them overseas -- in 2016. He said he would focus on companies in the entertainment and sports industries to revive growth as he braces for a slump in his main property business.
In the U.S., he bought "Godzilla"-producer Legendary entertainment for US$3.5 billion, becoming the first Chinese person to control a major Hollywood film company and his AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. is planning to take over Carmike Cinemas Inc. for US$1.1 billion to form the largest theater-chain operator in the U.S., though some of the target company’s investors are balking at the offer for being low.
In Europe, he announced that his Dalian Wanda Group Co. will invest more than 3 billion euros ($4.3 billion) for a retail and leisure development project outside of Paris to take on Walt Disney Co. and then signed up to be a top-level sponsor for the Fédération Internationale de Football Association. In India, Wang agreed to spearhead a US$10 billion industrial park in the northern Indian state of Haryana.
Back home, he raised 15.9 billion yuan in funds for film-making unit Wanda Pictures, agreed to invest 15 billion yuan in three hospitals and reorganized his flagship conglomerate to form a financial group. His Wanda Cinema Line Co. has been halted from trading since late February, pending the announcement of an acquisition that Credit Suisse Group AG believes to be Wanda Pictures. Wanda has declined to comment on that report.
Wang isn’t the only Chinese tycoon that’s been on a shopping spree this year. Wu Xiaohui’s Anbang Insurance Co. is currently in a bidding war with Marriott International Inc. for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. Overall, Chinese firms have announced about US$115 billion in overseas deals since the start of the year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.