Grindr snapped up by Beijing Kunlun Tech and Dalian Wanda buys a slice of Hollywood with Legendary Entertainment studios in Chinese shopping spree
It takes the January sales to a new level. Today two Chinese giants went shopping: Beijing Kunlun Tech bought a controlling stake in Grindr, and Dalian Wanda bought Hollywood film studio Legendary Entertainment.
Dalian Wanda Group announced today it had bought a stake in the studio, which produced the Batman trilogy, Inception, The Hangover and Jurassic World, for $3.5bn (£2.43bn). The company said it is the largest Chinese cross-border cultural acquisition ever.
Legendary's chairman and chief executive Thomas Tull will remain in his positions, and oversee the day-to-day operations, as the studio looks to extend its global reach with a valuable foothold in China.
Wang Jianlin, chairman of the Wanda Group, said:
The acquisition of Legendary will make Wanda Film the highest revenue-generating film company in the world, increasing Wanda’s presence in China and the US, the world’s two largest markets. Wanda’s businesses will encompass the full scope of film production, exhibition and distribution, enhancing Wanda’s core competitiveness and amplifying our voice in the global film market.”
Dalian Wanda is primarily a real estate firm, but has branched out with a number of purchases, including US cinema chain AMC.
It was also announced today that Chinese firm Beijing Kunlun Tech bought a 60 per cent stake in Grindr, the world's largest gay social networking app, for $93m (£64m).
The deal was revealed in a filing to the Shenzhen stock exchange. Grindr will hold the remaining 40 per cent of its shares.
Grindr founder and CEO Joel Simkhai said in a blog post Kunlun Tech's investment was a "a huge vote of confidence in our vision to connect gay men to even more of the world around them".
"We have taken this investment in our company to accelerate our growth, to allow us to expand our services for you," he said, adding it would be business as usual at the app.
Last year, Beijing Kunlun invested £22m for an undisclosed stake in peer-to-peer mortgage lender LendInvest, in what is the UK's largest ever series A funding in a financial technology company.