Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group has held talks about acquiring a stake in Lions Gate Entertainment, the US studio behind the popular "Hunger Games" franchise, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Wanda, which started as a builder of commercial property in China, bought US cinema chain AMC Entertainment for USD 2.6 billion in 2012. Its founder Wang Jianlin is China's fourth richest person with a fortune of USD 13.2 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
Wang has held talks with Lions Gate chairman Mark Rachesky, who intends to sell part of his 37 percent stake in the company, the newspaper yesterday quoted people with knowledge of the discussions as saying.
Wanda could not be reached for comment.
Rachesky has held talks with other potential strategic investors including the founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, Jack Ma, the newspaper said.
Alibaba, which listed on the New York Stock Exchange in September through a record-breaking initial public offer, has made several acquisitions in the entertainment industry.
Bloomberg News yesterday quoted Wang as saying in an interview that Wanda was not only interested in Lions Gate but had also held discussions about investing in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the independent producer of James Bond films.
"China's movie industry is booming at unprecedented speed. Buying a well-known US company will help our distribution overseas," Bloomberg quoted him as saying.
In July Wanda said it would invest $900 million in a five-star hotel and apartment complex in Chicago, as it acquires more assets in the United States.
Last year it acquired British yacht maker Sunseeker and also plans London's tallest residential towers.
