China’s Wanda Group Considers Future Partnership with Dreamworks Animation

Jun 10, 2013 Joe Kleiman News, Theme Parks 0

Chengdu, China — Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin revealed at the Fortune Global Forum in Chengdu on June 6 that his company would probably cooperate with DreamWorks in the future.

Speaking on a CCTV-moderated panel with DreamWorks CEO Jeffery Katzenberg, Wang said he hoped to work with him in thefuture. Katzenberg, who has formed a DreamWorks joint venture in Shanghai with Chinese media companies, said he was certain that the two companies would be doing things together.

“I used to talk with Jeffery about a cooperation agreement, but unfortunately DreamWorks had already signed an exclusive deal with a state-owned media company in Shanghai,“ said Wang, “but I’m sure we’ll hammer out an agreement without hurting other companies’ rights in the future.”

“I’m certain that we will be doing things together,” Katzenberg echoed Wang, adding: “Wanda has strength in merger & acquisitions and will be a strong supporter for DreamWorks.”

Katzenberg believes the cooperation between Wanda and DreamWorks will be an innovation for Chinese entertainment market by integrating retailing and entertainment together.

Wang said at the forum that he is also talking with the top five US cinema companies about cooperation.

The 12th Fortune Global Forum will take place from June 6 to 8 in Chengdu. It is an annual conference held by Fortune magazine. It is the fourth time for China to hold this forum. Themed “China’s New Future”, this year’s forum will bring the CEOs of the world’s biggest multinational companies, entrepreneurs and scholars to China.

The Dalian Wanda Group was founded in 1988 and operates in four major industries, including commercial properties, luxury hotels, culture & tourism, and department store chain. The company has assets of 300 billion yuan ($48 billion) and an annual income of 141.7 billion yuan ($23 billion), and pays 20.2 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) in taxes every year. The company now operates 69 Wanda Plazas, 38 five-star hotels, 6,000 cinema screens, 57 department stores and 63 karaoke outlets across the country. By 2015, the company aims to increase its assets to 400 billion yuan ($64.8 billion) and annual income to 250 billion yuan ($40.5 billion), and pay 30 billion yuan ($4.8 billion) in taxes every year, becoming a world-class enterprise.

www.wanda.cn