Recon Group, the Chinese owner of Aston Villa football club, is taking a $100m controlling stake in Millennium Films, the Hollywood producer of one of the Rambo films and The Expendables franchise.
The conglomerate controlled by Tony Xia is the latest Chinese investor to pour money into the US entertainment industry, as China’s domestic film market booms. The deals give Chinese groups exposure to Hollywood’s cinematic acumen, while US studios get capital and better access to China’s tightly controlled film market.
Dalian Wanda, the world’s largest cinema owner-operator, has been among the most aggressive, snapping up Dick Clark Productions for $1bn and Legendary Entertainment for $3.5bn last year, buying AMC movie theatres in 2012, and partnering with Sony Pictures Entertainment and IMAX to invest in film production and cinemas, respectively. Shanghai Film Group and Huahua Media recently struck a $1bn deal to co-finance Paramount Pictures’ slate of films for the next three years.