According to a report led by Zero2IPO research, the number of mergers and acquisitions by Chinese investors in domestic and overseas sports markets increased significantly last year.
Thirty-three of the deals were worth more than ten million yuan -- that's about a 50-percent increase on the year before.
Wanda Group acquired one of the world's leading international sports marketing companies, Infront Sports & Media, and then purchased the World Triathlon Corporation, becoming a major shareholder of two European football clubs. All of this activity cost the group nearly 15 billion yuan.
And China's Internet giant Alibaba is also looking for a piece of the pie. It became one of FIFA's major commercial partners, whilst also signing a 20-year strategic cooperation agreement with the International Boxing Federation. And the group now has rights to broadcast NFL games from the United States in China.
According to the General Administration of Sport, China's sports industry grew by about 400 billion in 2015, accounting for approximately 0.7 percent of the country's GDP. And that number looks set to increase further this year.
