Wanda Groups To Acquire Dick Clark Productions For $1B

The Dalian Wanda Group has sealed a deal to buy Dick Clark Productions for an eye-popping $1 billion, reports Variety.

The acquisition, which had been expected, marks yet another aggressive move into Hollywood for the Chinese real estate and entertainment conglomerate. Dick Clark Productions will Wanda a presence in the world of glitzy live events, such as the Golden Globe Awards, and the infrastructure for unscripted TV production.

Wanda said the deal is the company’s first move in TV. “It’s a big step forward in expanding Wanda’s map in the entertainment industry,” the company said.

Wanda said the management team at Dick Clark Productions, lead by CEO Allen Shapiro, will remain intact and that executives have signed “long term operation target agreement” with Wanda.

Wanda already owns AMC Theaters and Legendary Entertainment, and is planning to acquire Carmike Cinemas, which would create the world’s largest exhibitor.

Guggenheim Partners bought Dick Clark Productions in 2012 for $370 million — a price that at the time many thought was inflated. More recently, the company was spun off from Guggenheim to Eldridge Industries, which is owned by former Guggenheim exec Todd Boehly.

In 2007, DCP was acquired by Dan Snyder’s RedZone Capital Management for about $175 million.

DCP is best known for producing the Globes, the American Music Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards and several other awards franchises, as well as ABC’s perennial “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve” special. It also produces reality series such as Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance?” DCP recently struck a deal with ABC to produce “For the Record Live” specials involving soundtracks to well-known films.

But the company in recent years has struggled to produce successful new programs. Industry observers were shocked when word surfaced last month that Wanda was considering such a high valuation for the company.

DCP also owns the archive of its namesake’s “American Bandstand” music series that ran with Clark as host from 1956 through 1989. But the clip licensing from the show is complicated and costly because of the need to obtain music rights.