Chinese real-estate and entertainment conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group is "widening its global ambitions, considering plans to make big investments in France," according to Wu & Burkitt of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The Chinese company "is in advanced talks to invest in a retail and cultural development" known as Europa City near Paris, a mixed-use development spanning nearly 200 acres, according to people familiar with the situation. Wanda, owned by Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin, is "also interested in potentially buying Amaury Sport Organisation," a company that runs cycling’s Tour de France race, people familiar with Wanda’s plans said. They cautioned that the Tour de France deal is not "as advanced and discussions remained at early stages." For Wanda, the Europa City deal, "which could be announced soon, illustrates its broader global ambitions." Wang spent $2.6B for U.S. movie-theater chain AMC Entertainment. In '12, Wanda made its "first major move into Hollywood moviemaking," acquiring Legendary Entertainment for $3.5B in January. The Chinese conglomerate has "also moved into sports, and acquiring the Tour de France owner would fit with those expansion efforts." A year ago, Wanda Group bought Swiss sports-marketing company Infront Sports & Media for $1.2B and World Triathlon Corp., organizer of the Ironman Triathlon, for $650M. It also bought a 20% stake in La Liga club Atlético Madrid for €45M (WSJ, 2/25). BLOOMBERG reported Wang plans to invest more than $3.3B in a "retail and leisure development project outside Paris, which will take on the theme park run by Walt Disney in the euro zone’s second-largest economy." EuropaCity will be built 10km northeast of Paris by '24. It will be the "biggest single investment project in Europe to date," including a theme park, show stage, hotel, retail stores and conference centers, the company said in a statement. Wang: "For us, it is the most important project outside of China" (BLOOMBERG, 2/27).
