Wanda's plan to buy Paramount aborted: they won't sell it!

in July this year, foreign media revealed that Wanda Group intends to become a potential buyer of Paramount, acquiring a 49% stake in Paramount. Recently, foreign media once again revealed that the deal could not be done because Paramount's parent company, Viacom, decided not to sell.

several people familiar with the matter said Viacom, Paramount's parent company, had decided that Paramount Pictures was one of the company's core assets and would no longer consider selling its stake, according to Bloomberg.

Viacom said in February that it had hired PJT Partners, an investment bank, to evaluate a possible share deal after investors approached the company about buying a stake in Paramount. PJT is no longer doing the job, according to people familiar with the matter. However, they also said Viacom could restart the deal in the future.

Viacom representatives declined to comment.

Wang Jianlin, chairman of Wanda Group, said in an interview with Reuters on Aug. 23, "my goal is to acquire Hollywood companies and bring their technology and film production capacity to China." Wang Jianlin believes that Wanda is likely to buy any of the six major Hollywood studios. In addition to Paramount, the "Big six of Hollywood" also includes 20th Century Foss, Warner Brothers, Disney, Universal and Sony.

"We are not only interested in Paramount, but all of the six Hollywood giants." If any of the six Hollywood giants are willing to sell to us, we will be very interested. " Wang Jianlin added: "only the big six Hollywood studios are truly global studios, and none of the others are." This is a necessary step if we want to build a real film empire. "

in January this year, Wanda Group announced the acquisition of American legendary Pictures, and Wanda's US cinema chain AMC reached an agreement to acquire US cinema chain Carmike Cinemas and European cinema chain Odeon & UCI. In July, AMC announced the acquisition of Odeon & UCI for £921 million, completing the global acquisition of cinemas in the US and Europe. After the merger, Wanda will control 15 per cent of global box office receipts. Wanda aims to control 20% of global box office revenue by 2020.

although the sale of a stake in Paramount would allow Viacom to repay some of its $12 billion debt, it was opposed by National Amusements Inc, Viacom's controlling shareholder, saying the deal would hurt shareholders.

since Sumner Redstone, who runs National Entertainment, ousted Philippe Dauman, former chairman and CEO of Viacom, his daughter, Shari Redstone, has held an important position on the Viacom board. In addition, five new members have been placed on the board of directors.

in July this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that Wanda was interested in becoming a potential buyer of Paramount, buying a 49% stake in Paramount. But the Redstone family later reiterated its opposition. After foreign media broke the news of Wanda's bid for Paramount, the valuation of Paramount Pictures rose from $8 billion to $10 billion because of Wanda's bid. Now that the Redstone family has a firm grip on Viacom, Wanda is less likely to buy Paramount, while Paramount's share price is expected to change.

< strong > Yien collates and publishes according to public information and media reports < / strong >

Editor: vian