Wanda Media to raise $1.5b ahead of domestic listing

Wanda Media was founded in 2011 and comprises Wanda's own film production and distribution business under Wanda Pictures brand, as well as Hollywood film production studio Legendary Entertainment.

The pre-IPO round, which values Wanda Media at RMB35 billion, will involve the sale of new and existing shares, according to a roadshow document. The company will list through a reverse merger, an IPO and a merger with one of Wanda's listed companies. If the company can't go public within one year, investors will have an option to sell their shares back to Wanda Group with 15% guaranteed return, the document says. 

Local media reported Wanda Media's share issue is fully subscribed. Ying Cai Yuan Investment, an investment entity held by a group of domestic funds including Shanghai Kuntong Equity, is among the participating investors.

The films Wanda Media produced generated $6.8 billion in box office revenue last year, accounting for 24.8% of the industry total. The company is expected to reach RMB4.9 billion in revenue by the end of this year, of which Legendary will contribute about 80%.

Wanda agreed to buy Legendary for $3.5 billion last month, in what is said to be the largest cross-border "cultural acquisition" by a Chinese company to date. It facilitated an exit for several US-based private equity investors plus Japan's SoftBank.

Wanda also operates the country's largest movie theater chain Wanda Cinema Line Corporation, which is backed by a string of PE investors including Tsinghua Holdings and Sequoia Capital. Following an Shenzhen A-share listing, the cinema chain bought Australian cinema operator Hoyts Group from Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) last year.

In 2012, Wanda Group bought US-based cinema chain AMC Entertainment from several PE firms for $2.6 billion. AMC went public in the US last year, raising about $332 million.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Greater China
• Media
• IPO
• China
• IPO
• Media
• Dalian Wanda Group