China Mogul Seeks More Hollywood
 
Wanda's owner studies buying TV producer Dick Clark Productions with $1 billion valuation
China's richest man is going for glamour with his latest Hollywood blockbuster.
Billionaire Wang Jianlin is in discussions to acquire control of Dick Clark Productions at a valuation of about SI billion through his Dalian Wanda Group Co., according to people with knowledge of the situa-
tion. Dick Clark Productions would be the latest trophy in an empire that includes theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and movie producer Legendary Entertainment.
Eldridge Industries said in a statement that Dick Clark Productions, which it controls, has entered into exclusive talks with a Wanda subsidiary, Beijing Wanda Culture Industry Group Co., "with the shared goal of finalizing a mutually satisfactory transaction."
If completed, the deal would give China's Wanda the television production company that stages some of Hollywood's glitziest and. most popular awards shows, including the Golden Globe Awards and the American Music Awards.
One of the people cautions that the talks are still at an early stage and there remains a valuation gap between the two sides.
Wanda is known in China
primarily as a commercial property developer. But in recent years the company has become an aggressive buyer of entertainment assets overseas—from movie theaters to a
production company to sporting events. At home, Wanda is building theme parks to counter Walt Disney Co.'s push into mainland China.
Dick Clark would be Wanda's biggest foray into U.S. television assets and builds on its interest in Hollywood-related deals. TheWrap previously reported that Dick Clark Productions was looking to sell to a Chinese buyer at a $1 billion valuation.
Founded in 1957 by the late television personality, Santa Monica, Calif.-based Dick Clark Productions was sold to a group of investors led by investment firm Guggenheim Partners in 2012 for an undisclosed value. Late last year, Guggenheim sold Dick Clark

Productions and a couple of other media assets to a company controlled by Guggenheim's 'then-president, Todd Boehly, who took a step back from Guggenheim to man the newly formed company El-dridge Industries. Mr. Boehly, now the CEO of Eldridge, remains on the executive council at Guggenheim.
Eldridge said earlier this year that it had hired bankers to conduct a strategic review
of its media holdings. Dick Clark Productions was shopped to a number of buyers including Chinese companies. Wanda, a property-to-entertainment conglomerate, could bring to China some of the world's most-viewed live TV programs. The Golden Globes attracted 18.5 million viewers this year, while the 2016 Billboard Music Awards drew about 9.6 million viewers and the 2015 American Music Awards drew about 11 million viewers. Beauty pageant "Miss America," another event run by Dick Clark Productions, also gets   millions   of   domestic
American viewers.
Betting on the brand of live event programming owned by Dick Clark Productions holds some risks, given that big awards shows like the Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards and Oscars experienced ratings drops this year, along with a broader fall in TV ratings. Viewership for the Golden Globes, for instance, slipped 4.2% this year from a year ago.
Despite the recent declines, big television spectacles are still coveted by advertisers looking to reach broad audiences.
Wanda's ambitions in Holly-
wood seemingly have no limits. Early this year, Wanda paid $3.5 billion to take over Legendary Entertainment, which has produced blockbusters including "Pacific Rim," "Godzilla" and "Jurassic World."
Mr. Wang also owns the US.'s No. 2 movie-theater operator AMC Entertainment, which it bought in 2012 for about $2.6 billion, and is seeking to acquire the Carmike Cinemas chain, which would make him the largest theater operator in the U.S. He also has agreed to buy Europe's largest cinema chain, Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group, for $650 million.