Wanda Group

"Dalian Wanda" redirects here. For the football club, see Dalian Wanda F.C.
Wanda Group
万达集团
Private
Industry Conglomerate (Hospitality, retailing, property development, tourism, cultural industry[1])
Founded Dalian, Liaoning, China
1988 (1988)
Headquarters Beijing, China
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Wang Jianlin (Chairman)[2]
Dīng Běnxī (丁本锡) (President)
Products Plazas, yachts, luxury hotels, commercial property, department stores, cinemas
Revenue Increase CN¥257.371 billion (US$39.47 billion) (2014)[3]
Increase CN¥13.450 billion (US$2.06 billion) (2013)[3]
Total assets Increase CN¥564.250 billion (US$86.15 billion) (2014)[3]
Owner Dalian Hexing Investment Co. (owned by Wang family)[2]
Number of employees
 130,000[4]
Divisions Wanda Cinemas
Wanda Media
Subsidiaries AMC Theatres
Sunseeker International
Infront Sports & Media
The Hoyts Group
World Triathlon Corporation
Legendary Entertainment
Dick Clark Productions
Website www.wanda-group.com
Wanda Group
Simplified Chinese 万达集团
Traditional Chinese 萬達集團
Alternative Chinese name
Simplified Chinese 大连万达
Traditional Chinese 大連萬達

Wanda Group (simplified Chinese: 万达集团; traditional Chinese: 萬達集團; pinyin: Wàndá Jítuán), or Dalian Wanda (Chinese: 大连万达), is a Chinese multinational conglomerate corporation and the world's biggest private property developer and owner[5] and the world's largest cinema chain operator, owning Wanda Cinemas, and the Hoyts Group.[6][7]

The company operates in four major industries—commercial property, luxury hotels, culture and tourism, and department stores. It was established in Dalian, Liaoning and is now headquartered in Beijing.

History

The company was founded in Dalian, Liaoning, in 1988 as a residential real estate company by Wang Jianlin.[8] Incorporated in 1992, the company was "one of the first shareholding companies in the PRC" after the economic reform.[9]

Diversification push

Since 2005,[2] recent years Chinese property developers like Dalian Wanda and Evergrande have made forays into "alternative, income-generating businesses away from the property market". The Financial Times noted that Dalian Wanda was the "most aggressive" in pursuing this strategy, pointing to its 2012 acquisition of U.S. cinema chain AMC Theatres and 2013 purchase of British yachtmaker Sunseeker. It noted that it was also "building theme parks across China, and has a joint venture with Tencent and Baidu to set up an e-commerce platform".[10]

Dalian Wanda acquired the U.S.-based cinema operator AMC Theatres in May 2012 for $2.6 billion, the largest Chinese acquisition of an American company to that date.[11] The acquisition went through successfully in August 2012, making Wanda Cinemas the world’s largest cinema operator.[12] As of 2016, Wanda owns approximately 6% of all commercial movie screens in China, and about 13% in the U.S.[12] The company made major changes in AMC theater design and layout, including generously sized reclining seats, waiter service, and expanded food and drink offerings. Ticket sales at AMC nearly doubled in the 18 months following the acquisition, and by the end of 2014 Wanda had reaped a reported profit of about US$900 million.[12] AMC also owns 50% of Open Road Films.

In June 2013, Dalian Wanda planned to invest $1.1 billion to develop a new five-star hotel in London next to the Thames River in Vauxhall, South London, as part of the Nine Elms regeneration.[2] Mayor of London Boris Johnson welcomed this move.[13] It is building "Western Europe’s tallest residential building".[9] Plans were scrapped in 2015,

In June 2013, Dalian Wanda acquired Sunseeker International, a UK-based maker of luxury yachts used in the James Bond movies, for $500 million.[2] This acquisition will give them a 92% stake in the company.[13]

In January 2015, Dalian Wanda purchased an office building in Sydney, Australia, from Blackstone Group for around $327 million.[14] The company is "aggressively expanding overseas to move away from China's property market, which has been hit by a slowing economy".[10]

In June 2015, Wanda Cinemas announced that it had acquired Australian cinema chain Hoyts.[7]

In November 2015, it was announced that a holding company, Wanda Film Holdings, will group all film-related assets.[15]

Dalian Wanda plans for a skyscraper in Chicago to be called Wanda Vista, designed by Chicago architect Jeanne Gang and will become the city's third-tallest building. If completed, it will become the tallest building in the world designed by a woman, passing Chicago's Aqua Tower.[16]

In January 11, 2016, Wanda Group acquired Legendary Entertainment for $3.5 billion. The acquisition of Legendary made Wanda Film Holdings the highest revenue-generating film company in the world.[17]

In May 2016, Wanda Group acquired Propaganda GEM. The Entertainment Marketing and product placement agency becomes part of Wanda Group's focus on entertainment but also Hollywood content.[18]

Wanda Group also owns 20% of Mtime.[19]

In September 2016, Wanda announced a major partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment, in which it will take minority investments in a number of upcoming releases. Sony stated that Wanda planned to "highlight the China element in the films in which it invests". The deal came in the wake of Wanda's failed bid to acquire a stake in Paramount Pictures.[20][21]

In November 2016, Wanda announced it would buy Dick Clark Productions for around $1 billion.[22]

Initial public offering

In December 2014, Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties, the group's property division, raised $3.7 billion in an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange,[23] the "most money a real estate company has raised in the public markets".[9] The IPO made founder Wang Jianlin worth more than $25 billion, making him one of China's richest men.[5]

In 2016, the group sought to privatize Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties less than 18 months after the unit's listing on the stock exchange.[24] Standard & Poor was concerned that the move would weaken Wanda Commercial's transparency.[24]

Sports

On January 20, 2015, it was reported that Wang Jianlin was buying a 20% stake in the La Liga club Atlético Madrid.[25] The purchase was finalised March 31, 2015, when the company Wanda Madrid Investment, a subsidiary of Dalian Wanda Group, officially become a partial owner of Atlético Madrid after gaining control of 726.707 shares, representing a 20% ownership stake. The purchase price was €44,983,163.30, or €61.90 per share.[26]

In February 2015, Dalian Wanda won an auction to purchase Infront Sports & Media, a sports marketing company based in Zug, Switzerland, for $1.2 billion.[27][28] Infront distributes broadcasting rights for some of the world’s biggest sporting events; for example, it has the exclusive sales rights to broadcast FIFA's events from 2015 to 2022, including the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. According to Wang Jianlin, "the acquisition is expected to help boost sports in China and increase Wanda’s influence in global sports".[29]

In August 2015, Dalian Wanda announced that it was purchasing the World Triathlon Corporation, a US-based company promoting and licensing various triathlon competitions, for $650 million.[30]

In November 2015, it was announced that a sports division will include all sports-related assets.[15]

Operations

Wanda Group has its headquarters in the Wanda Plaza (Chinese: 万达广场) in Beijing's Chaoyang District, where it moved in 2009.[31] In May 2015, Dalian Wanda Group announced that it was in the process of relocating its corporate headquarters to Shanghai, which will become the third Chinese city to host the company's headquarters.[32]

As of June 16, 2014, Dalian Wanda owned 88 Wanda Plazas, 55 five-star hotels, 1,247 cinema screens, 78 department stores, and 84 karaoke centres throughout China.[33]

In 2013, the company’s assets totaled 380 billion yuan ($62.8 billion), its annual income reached 186.6 billion yuan ($30.8 billion) and net profits exceeded 12.5 billion yuan ($2.06 billion).

Sponsorships

Since 2011, Dalian Wanda has been the major sponsor of the Chinese Super League football league.[34] From 1994 to 2000, it was the primary sponsor for the Dalian Shide F.C. (then named Dalian Wanda F.C.), during which time the club won four titles in the Chinese top-tier Jia-A League.[35]

The "China's Future Football Stars" project, kicked off in 2013, is being funded by the Wanda Group with an initial phase-I investment of at least 200 million yuan (approximately $32.5 million), the biggest sponsorship in domestic youth sport development since 1949. The program will see 30 young footballers sent to Spain each year for a three-year training program that will consist of football training, as well as education in Spanish language and local culture.

On March 18, 2016, Wanda signed a deal with FIFA to provide sponsorship at the next four World Cup competitions, up until 2030. Although it is still unclear as to how much money has changed hands, and also which Wanda Subsidiaries will be appearing. This deal makes Wanda the first Chinese First-Tier FIFA Sponsor.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Spender, Tom. "Interview with Dalian Wanda's Wang Jianlin". Tomspender.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Wei, Michael (19 August 2013). "Property Mogul Emerges as China's Richest Person". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on August 19, 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "Corporate Profile". Official website of Wanda Group. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  4. ↑ http://www.wanda-group.com/employees/
  5. 1 2 "It's a Wanda-ful life". The Economist. February 14, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Industry Partners: Dalian Wanda Group". World Economic Forum. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  7. 1 2 Matthew Miller (2 June 2015). "China's Dalian Wanda buys Australian cinema chain Hoyts". Reuters. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Wanda Group threw 5 billion yuan for rock-bottom price bargains, and Wang Jianlin predicted a complete shuffle for the real estate industry - Column of Wang Jianlin - About Wanda". Dalian Wanda Group. November 29, 2008. Archived from the original on February 10, 2013. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
  9. 1 2 3 Alexandra Stevenson; Michael Forsythe (December 16, 2014). "Dalian Wanda Commercial, a Chinese Developer, Raises $3.7 Billion in I.P.O.". New York Times.
  10. 1 2 Josh Noble; Gabriel Wildau (January 15, 2015). "Dalian Wanda changes property strategy after IPO". Financial Times.
  11. ↑ "News Summary: AMC theater chain to be sold". Bloomberg Businessweek. May 21, 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 Shih, Willy; McGee, Henry (December 2015). "Hollywood on the Yellow Sea". The Atlantic. 316 (5): 44–51. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  13. 1 2 "China's Dalian Wanda to buy UK yacht maker and hotel". BBC. June 19, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Blackstone to sell prime Sydney property to Dalian Wanda for $327 million", Reuters, 26 January 2015
  15. 1 2 Patrick Frater (November 2, 2015). "China's Wanda Establishes Global Film Division". variety.com. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  16. ↑ Kamin, Blair (Apr 14, 2015). "Proposed skyscraper could be third-tallest -- or fifth-tallest -- in Chicago". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  17. ↑ Brzeski, Patrick (2016-01-11). "It's Official: China's Wanda Acquires Legendary Entertainment for $3.5 Billion". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  18. ↑ "Wanda Buys Marketing Specialist Propaganda GEM, Hoolai Games", Variety, 2016
  19. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (June 15, 2016). "Is 'Warcraft's Outsized China Box Office A Game-Changer For Hollywood?". Deadline.com. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Wanda Group partners with Sony Pictures, giving China's richest man a leg up in Hollywood". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  21. ↑ "China's Wanda Forming Major Alliance With Sony Pictures". Deadline.com. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  22. ↑ Angeles, Erich Schwartzel in Los; Beijing, Wayne Ma in (2016-11-04). "China's Wanda Group to Buy Dick Clark Productions for About $1 Billion". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
  23. ↑ Ho, Prudence (December 15, 2014). "Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Raises $3.7 Billion in IPO". Wall Street Journal.
  24. 1 2 Jim, Clare (May 30, 2016). "Dalian Wanda makes $4.4 billion offer to take Hong Kong-listed property arm private". Reuters. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  25. ↑ "China’s 2nd-Richest Grabs Stake in Spanish Soccer Club", Bloomberg News (January 20, 2015).
  26. ↑ http://en.clubatleticodemadrid.com/noticias/wanda-group-is-now-the-owner-of-20-of-the-club-s-shareholding
  27. ↑ Cotterill, Joseph; Massoudi, Arash; Blitz, Roger. "Dalian Wanda buys Sepp Blatter nephew's sports rights agency". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  28. ↑ "China's Wanda buys sports group Infront for 1.05 billion euros". Business Insider. Retrieved 2015-02-09.
  29. ↑ Burkitt, Laurie (February 9, 2015). "Dalian Wanda to Buy Swiss Sports Group Infront". Wall Street Journal.
  30. ↑ "China's Dalian Wanda Buys Ironman Triathlon Brand for $650M". The New York Times. August 26, 2015. Archived from the original on August 30, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Contact." Wanda Group. Retrieved on January 4, 2015. "Headquarters Address: Tower B, Wanda Plaza, No. 93 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing" - Chinese address: "北京市朝阳区建国路93号万达广场B座"
  32. ↑ "China's Richest Man Plans To Move Headquarters To Shanghai From Beijing". Forbes. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  33. ↑ "Introduction: About Wanda". Dalian Wanda Group. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
  34. ↑ "Dalian Wanda to invest millions in Chinese football". Soccerex. Archived from the original on April 21, 2014. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
  35. ↑ van de Ven, Johan. "Death of an Institution: The Dalian Shide Story". Wild East Football. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
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