Wang Jianlin and Thomas Tull in happier times
Wang Jianlin’s rough patch may have gotten a bit bumpier this week after the partner in his biggest Hollywood deal exited the company after less than one year. Also in the headlines, China’s home prices headed down in December, and Jack Ma signs up for another $58 million investment in Mao Daqing’s URWork. Read on for all these stories and more.
Wanda’s Hollywood Studio Partner Bails After Less Than One Year
Thomas Tull has resigned as chairman and chief executive of Legendary Entertainment, nearly a year after China’s Dalian Wanda Group acquired the Burbank film and TV production company in a high-profile deal worth $3.5 billion.
Wanda has installed Jack Gao as Legendary’s interim chief executive while it searches for a full-time replacement for Tull, 46, who founded Legendary in 2005. Under Tull, who made his bones in private equity, Legendary became a formidable Hollywood production company and had a hand in such blockbusters as “The Dark Knight,” “Godzilla” and “Jurassic World.” Read More>>
Wang Jianlin Says US Deals Won’t Be Trumped by New Regime
China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, said on Tuesday that rising tensions between the United States and China will affect trade, although he’s confident that his Dalian Wanda Group’s investment in the country’s entertainment industry will not be hampered.
Wang, speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, said his group has earmarked $5 billion to $10 billion each year for outbound investment, focusing on entertainment and sports. Read More>>
Jack Ma’s Ant Financial Invests $58M into China’s URWork
Chinese co-working space start-up UrWork has raised a new round of financing worth RMB400 million (US$58 million) from Tianhong Asset Management Co., Ltd., a fund management firm affiliated with Ant Financial, Chinese property developer Junfa Group and a number of other Chinese companies.
Chinese property firm Dahong Group and Tianming Shuangchuang Technology, both based in Henan province, as well as Shanghai Chuanghehui Fund, were also named as investors in the round. Ant Financial is an affiliate company of Alibaba Group. Read More>>
Investors Punish Sunac, LeEco Shares After Bailout
Sunac China Holdings has been confronted with consistent doubts from investors over its 15 billion yuan investment into cash-starved LeEco, with volatile share trading this week evidence of a mixed, if not baffling attitude toward the deal.
The developer’s Hong Kong-listed shares swung between big losses and minor gains on Monday and Tuesday, amid investor concerns over the lack of synergy between the real estate and internet companies. Sunac traded 1 per cent up as of 1.22pm Wednesday. Read More>>
Guangzhou Defies China Home Price Slide in December
Guangzhou’s residential property prices rose in December, becoming the only city among 15 of China’s largest urban centres to defy the government’s programme to deflate a potential price bubble in new homes.
Prices of new homes in Guangzhou rose 0.7 per cent in December from the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics’ data. Prices either fell or recorded no increase in the remaining 14 cities monitored by the bureau, as market cooling measures took effect in more places. In November, eight cities reported zero growth or declining home prices. Read More>>
Tune in again tomorrow for more news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter for headlines as they happen.
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