Bottom line: DreamWorks Animation’s withdrawal from its China joint venture marks the end of an explosive phase in China-Hollywood tie-ups, with one-off co-production deals the most likely form of cooperation going forward.
Take-two for DreamWorks Animation China JV
In what could herald a wave of the future, a highly-touted joint venture between DreamWorks Animation and Shanghai’s China Media Capital (CMC) has come unglued, with the official departure of DreamWorks from the tie-up. This particular exit appears quite symbolic, as Oriental DreamWorks was the first of what ended up becoming a huge wave of similar tie-ups between China and Hollywood. Thus the big question becomes if this abandonment of the venture could signal more unraveling of similar tie-ups ahead.
I suspect the answer to that question is yes, but perhaps not for the reasons you might expect. It appears that DreamWorks Animation’s decision to quit the joint venture owed to disappointing results, and I suspect the company’s acquisition by Comcast two years ago was also a factor. The fact of the matter is that China’s movie market still has huge potential. But Beijing has shown less appetite for these China-Hollywood tie-ups these days, less for political reasons and more because it is trying to stem the outflow of money for foreign acquisitions. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on June 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Japan’s SoftBank Plans to Sell $7.9 Bln in Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Stock to Cut Debt (English article)
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Sells Patents to Xiaomi, Builds ‘Long-Term Partnership’ (English article)
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Seeking Up To $221 Mln by Selling Lenovo (HKEx: 992) Stock (English article)
Jaunt, SMG and CMC Launch Virtual Reality Venture Jaunt China (Businesswire)
Michael Kors Acquires Greater China Licensee for $500 Mln (Businesswire)
Bottom line: Wanda’s new FIFA sponsorship is an opportunistic and savvy move both politically and financially, while CMC’s new smaller soccer investment also looks like a good play to win goodwill from Beijing.
Wanda, CMC in new soccer plays
China’s recent fascination with global sports deals continues, with word of major new tie-ups involving 2 big fans of President Xi Jinping’s recent call to improve the nation’s poor performance in soccer. The larger deal has an opportunistic Wanda Group signing on as China’s first top-tier sponsor of FIFA, the world soccer body whose reputation has suffered lately due to a major corruption scandal. The second deal has the acquisitive China Media Capital (CMC) investing in in SoccerWorld, a British operator of sports stadiums.
Both deals have a strongly political element, since Chinese President Xi Jinping is personally a big soccer fan and has appealed to China’s private sector to help improve the nation’s performance at the world’s most popular sport. Some of China’s other top corporate leaders have also answered that call, including Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) founder Jack Ma, leading web portal Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) and electronics retailing giant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024). Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Jin Jiang’s Accor investment reflects its global aspirations and could result in a strategic partnership, while SMG’s new Imagine Entertainment investment reflects its increasing focus on film production.
Jin Jiang boosts Accor stake
Two major overseas investments are in the headlines from the leisure and entertainment sector, with hotel operator Jin Jiang (HKEx: 2006; Shanghai: 600754) and Shanghai Media Group (SMG) making major purchases in Europe and the US, respectively. The first deal has the acquisitive Jin Jiang boosting its stake in Accor (Paris: AC) to 11.7 percent, making it the French hotel giant’s second largest shareholder. The second has SMG’s China Media Capital (CMC) unit signing on as one of several new investors in Imagine Entertainment, the Hollywood production company co-founded by director Ron Howard.
Both stories reflect China’s recent drive to form global tie-ups in the leisure and entertainment sectors, as companies try to capitalize on the nation’s booming domestic market and also a growing flood of Chinese tourists traveling overseas. Jin Jiang has been China’s most acquisitive hotel company, while CMC has also been very active in forming tie-ups and investing with big names both at home and abroad. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that both of these companies are based in my adopted hometown of Shanghai, which is also China’s commercial capital. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Ant Financial Set to Raise $3.1 Bln, Valued at $50 Bln (Chinese article)
Jin Jiang (HKEx: 2006) Raises Accor Hotels (Paris: AC) Stake to 11.7 Pct (Chinese article)
Xiaomi Won’t Go Public Within 5 Years, Has 10 Bln Yuan in Cash – CEO (Chinese article)
China Media Capital Invests in Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment (Chinese article)
China Angered by Planned US Export Restrictions on ZTE (HKEx: 763) (English article)
China’s growing love affair with Hollywood is reaching new peaks, with word that major studio Paramount Pictures may be preparing to sell a stake of itself to a Chinese buyer. Such a deal would be the highest profile investment yet in an ever-growing string of Chinese tie-ups with Tinseltown over the last 2 years. In some ways the movement looks strangely similar to Japan’s invasion of Hollywood more than 25 years ago, which saw Universal and Columbia Pictures sold to Japanese buyers.
That parallel may lead some to wonder if this latest Chinese drive into Hollywood could end with similarly disappointing results that saw both studios sputter under Japanese ownership. Prickly US-China relations could also add an element of discomfort to this new budding love affair, since Beijing enjoys a far less friendly relationship with Washington than Tokyo. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Wall Street Round-Up’s new venture funding from China Media Capital testifies to its rapid rise, using a similar formula to the popular US-based Business Insider financial news aggregator.
SMG backs Wall Street Round-Up
A fast-rising financial news website that looks like China’s answer to the popular US site Business Insider has just netted its latest funding, in the amount of a relatively modest 100 million yuan ($15 million). But what’s attracting the biggest interest in this story is the source of the funding, which is coming from China Media Capital (CMC), the new media investment arm of the aggressive Shanghai Media Group (SMG).
As a member of the media, this story is of particular interest to me because of the controversial nature of the funding recipient, called Huawerjie Jianwen, or roughly Wall Street Round-Up. The company was founded as a financial news blog in New York in 2010 by a group of young entrepreneurs, but its rapid rise didn’t begin until they returned to China in 2013 and re-registered the company here in Shanghai. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 3. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Yingli (NYSE: YGE) Gets 2 Bln Yuan Bank Loan Infusion, Prepares to Reorganize (Chinese article)
Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Leads $800 Mln Funding for Augmented Reality Firm Magic Leap (Chinese article)
China Lodging Group (Nasdaq: HTHT) to Form China Time Share JV with Weshare (Chinese article)
China Media Capital Invests 100 Mln Yuan in Financial New Media Huaerjie Jianwen (Chinese article)
T-Mobile Supplier to Import Xiaomi, Meizu Smartphones (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Fox’s new “Simpsons”-themed China stores will meet with lukewarm response, and will pave the way for announcements later this year of a new Chinese theme park and film production joint venture.
Fox brings ‘Simpsons’ stores to China
After years of standing on the sidelines, media mogul Rupert Murdoch is finally taking his first big step back into China with plans to open a new chain of concept stores based on the popular TV series “The Simpsons”. An executive with Murdoch’s Twentieth Century Fox (Nasdaq: FOX), which owns the animated TV series, discussed this particular plan last year, even mentioning the “Simpsons” name at that time. Still, some are scratching their heads at this particular concept, since the TV series is relatively unknown in China and was actually banned here until recently.
This announcement is probably just a teaser for the bigger events that will come later this year, including announcement of a 20th Century Fox theme park for China, and possibly a new film production tie-up. Fox is actually playing catch-up to other major Hollywood studios in all 3 areas, following its withdrawal from the market with the sale of its main Chinese TV station to Shanghai’s China Media Capital (CMC) in 2010. Read Full Post…
The newest “Star Wars” movie is in two headlines this week, led by a strong debut for the seventh installment in the franchise that has just opened in China several weeks after its global premier. The movie is also in headlines related to a new initiative by the hyperactive China Media Capital (CMC), which has just formed a joint venture with a company that made some of the special effects for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. In this case CMC’s new partner is Base FX, a Beijing-based start-up with strong ties to Hollywood.
Much has been written about prospects for the new “Star Wars” movie in China, where the franchise isn’t very well known because none of the first 6 films in the series were screened in the country unit recently. To address that problem, the movie’s producer Disney (NYSE: DIS) has been working overtime to promote the film in China, with relatively strong results. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 12. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Media Capital Invests in ‘Star Wars’ Special Effects House Base FX (Chinese article)
Apple, Samsung supplier Biel Crystal plans $2 Bln HK IPO in 2016 – IFR (English article)
Uber Drives Into China Tourism Industry With HNA Group Tie-Up (English article)
Women’s Shopping Services Mogujie, Meilishuo Merge to Create $3 Bln Company (Chinese article)
‘Star Wars: Force Awakens’ Breaks Records With $53 Mln China Debut (English article)
