Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group will sell a 12.77 percent stake worth 7.79 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) in Wanda Film, as part of the company's move to an asset-light strategy, according to a statement released on Monday.
Wanda will sell a stake worth about 4.7 billion yuan to Hangzhou Zhenxi Investment Management Co, a subsidiary of Alibaba, and another 3.1 billion yuan to Cultural Investment Holdings (CIH), a State-run company, the statement read.
Wanda will retain a majority stake of 49.09 percent, with Alibaba becoming the second-largest shareholder of Wanda Film.
"Wanda has had the goal of embracing internet technology for a long time but didn't take substantial action. Meanwhile, Alibaba and CIH are searching for well-made film projects. It is a win-win outcome," China Business Network reported on Tuesday, citing an insider.
Alibaba will use its big data platform to support Wanda Film in film distribution, advertising and ticket sales, and CIH will cooperate with Wanda in the cultural tourism industry by taking advantage of its rich land and tourism resources.
Wanda announced on January 29 that its commercial real estate arm Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co signed a strategic investment agreement with four Chinese internet giants led by Tencent, which brought 34 billion yuan in investment for the company.
Other investors involved in the deal included Suning Holdings Group, JD.com Inc and Sunac China Group.
