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Chalk up a win for Wanda Group. The unlisted Chinese conglomerate will pay $3.5bn for Legendary Entertainment, the US media company behind films including Jurassic World and The Dark Knight. The deal will be Wanda’s largest to date, according to Dealogic.
万达集团(Wanda Group)赢了一个回合。这家未上市的中国企业集团将斥资35亿美元收购传奇娱乐(Legendary Entertainment)，这家美国媒体公司曾出品《侏罗纪世界》和《蝙蝠侠：黑暗骑士》等卖座的大片。Dealogic数据显示，这将是万达迄今最大的一笔交易。（上图为传奇娱乐投资的电影《侏罗纪世界》）
Wanda’s founder Wang Jianlin has acquired plenty of other overseas trophies in recent years, but this move makes strategic sense, too. China’s entertainment market is growing rapidly and is an area of increasing focus for Wanda Group; last weekend Wanda said 2015 revenues for its culture and tourism arm, Wanda Cultural Industry (which accounts for 17 per cent of the total top line), were up nearly one-half year on year against group revenues up a fifth. Growth at Shenzhen-listed subsidiary Wanda Cinema Line was similarly racy.
万达创始人王健林近年在海外收购不少战利品式的资产，但这笔交易在战略上是有道理的。中国的文化娱乐市场正快速增长，且也是万达集团越来越关注的领域；最近万达宣布旗下文化旅游业务——万达文化产业集团(Wanda Cultural Industry)的2015年总收入（占集团总收入的17%）同比增长近50%，而集团总收入增长五分之一。在深圳上市的子公司万达电影院线(Wanda Cinema Line)也有同样快速的增长。
Despite this rapid pace of growth, China’s movie-goers are underserviced. At the end of 2014, there were only half as many cinemas in China as the US, according to EntGroup; this is set to grow. Content, too, presents opportunities. Chinese film production went from 91 in 2010 to 320 in 2014, accounting for just over half of the total box-office receipts. Hollywood films are subject to a quota of 34 a year, but joint productions involving Hollywood studios and a local partner fall outside this quota and do not have to pay 14 per cent of box office takings to the state distributor.
虽然增长速度如此快，但中国的电影院数量仍相对不足。据EntGroup的数据，在2014年底，中国的影院数量只有美国的一半；这注定将会增长。内容方面同样也展示着机遇。中国制作的电影数量已从2010年的91部增长至2014年的320部，带来的票房收入略高于票房总收入的一半。好莱坞电影受每年不超过34部的配额限制，但由好莱坞联手本地合作伙伴制作的电影不受配额限制，也不用向国有发行商缴纳14%的票房收入。
The Legendary deal offers Wanda the opportunity to grow rapidly in what remains a fragmented market; in 2014, Wanda Media was the second-biggest distributor, with just 3 per cent of China’s local language box office. By contrast, the lead studio in the US last year, Universal, had a share of one-fifth, according to Box Office Mojo (helped by Jurassic World, which was its top-grossing film). Buying Legendary will not just give Wanda exclusive access to the company’s back catalogue of blockbusters, it will also bring expertise. That has the potential to add up to a much bigger win.
收购传奇娱乐的交易，在一个仍然分散的市场为万达提供了快速增长的机会；2014年，万达影视(Wanda Media)是规模第二的发行商，仅拥有3%的国内票房。相比之下，票房统计网站Box Office Mojo的数据显示，美国去年排名第一的制片商环球影业(Universal)拥有本土五分之一的票房（得益于其最卖座电影《侏罗纪世界》）。收购传奇娱乐不仅可以让万达独家获取该公司库藏的大片目录，还将为其带来专业知识。这将有可能带来更大的利好。
