Crouching studio, hidden regulator

21 February 2017 By Pete Sweeney Follow @petesweeneypro

Officials torpedoed Dalian Wanda’s $1 bln bid for Golden Globes producer Dick Clark, a Hollywood website says. Reining in Wang Jianlin may be diplomatically astute and economically prudent, but if China’s richest man can’t get deals done, it’s a bad sign for other Chinese buyers.

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On Nov. 4, China's Dalian Wanda agreed to buy Dick Clark Productions, the U.S. company that runs the Golden Globe awards and Miss America pageants, for $1 billion, extending the Chinese property-to-entertainment conglomerate's buying spree in Hollywood.

On Feb. 20, the Wrap said the deal was "dead". The entertainment news website cited two individuals familiar with the matter, whosaid the deal had fallen apart over problems getting currency out of China and getting regulatory approval.

Both said concern about U.S. regulators blocking the deal was not the primary reason for the deal's breakdown, the Wrap said, but one said the price on offer was an issue.

Outbound M&A from China so far in 2017 is down 40 percent from the same period last year, to $8.4 billion, according to a Reuters analysis.

Dalian Wanda declined to comment.

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