14 Jan 2019
Dalian Wanda considering US$500m IPO for sports unit
BY Tom Walker
Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group is understood to be planning an initial public offering for its burgeoning sports unit.
According to Reuters,Wanda is preparing for an IPO which could fetch up to $500m.
Adding to its interests across entertainment, hospitality and healthcare, Wanda has in recent years been active in acquiring sports properties.
In 2015 won an auction to purchase Swiss sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media – which gave it the exclusive sales rights to broadcast FIFA events from 2015 to 2022, including the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
It also owns the World Triathlon Corporation, the Competitor Group (CGI) – operator of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series – and held a 20 per cent stake in Spanish football club Atletico Madrid for three years.
According to Reuters, Wanda made the filing for the IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the listing could happen as early as the first half of this year.
• Outside of sports, Wanda has been very active in the leisure and entertainment industries – with the movie and theme park sectors particular markets of interest.
In April 2018, Wanda celebrated the opening of its Qingdao Movie Metropolis mega-development. The US$7.9bn (£5.7bn) scheme covers more than 400 acres and includes a theme park, 30,000sq m waterpark, yacht club and hotels, as well as a vast movie studio and film production facilities.
The group has also been open about its ambitions to take on Hollywood by building a world-class "movie making machine" – plans which saw it acquire Legendary Entertainment, the studio responsible for blockbusters such as Godzilla and Jurassic World.
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