China's Dalian Wanda Group Stock Dives After Regulators Probe

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Shares of AMC Theatres and Legendary Pictures owner Dalian Wanda Group’s publicly traded film company, Wanda Film Holding Co., plunged nearly 10 percent Wednesday before trading was suspended after the Chinese government, which has cracked down on foreign investment in recent months, decided to take a closer look at the financing arrangements of some of its biggest international dealmakers.

Early Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that the China Bank Regulatory Commission asked certain banks for details on loans made to several of the country’s conglomerates, including New York’s Waldorf-Astoria owner Anbang Insurance Group, Fosun International, which owns part of Cirque du Soleil and Wanda. Rumors on Chinese social media that Chinese banks had been ordered to sell Wanda’s bonds.

Wanda posted a statement on its website blaming “vicious” speculation for the sell-off.

Also Read: Wanda Puts the Brakes on Legendary Merger

“Today, someone on the internet viciously speculated that some banks, including China Construction Bank, issued a notice to dump Wanda’s bonds,” the statement said. “After investigation, banks such as China Construction Bank have never issued such notices, and speculations online are just rumors. We hereby state that all operations are fine, and we sincerely hope that people will not trust or circulate rumors.”

After a multi-year buying spree, particularly in Hollywood, the firehose of Chinese cash coming to the United States has been squeezed, largely by regulators on the other side of the Pacific seeking to keep capital at home — and prevent a weakening yuan — and crack down on some mind-boggling purchase prices.

Wanda’s would-be $1 billion purchase of Dick Clark Entertainment was derailed by capital controls and regulatory issues, as TheWrap exclusively reported in February. Last year, regulators also foiled the company’s plans to fold unprofitable Legendary into its publicly-traded cinema business, leading Wanda to eventually suspend the plan — and former Legendary CEO Thomas Tull to exit. Wu Xiaohui, the chairman of Anbang, has also been detained by government authorities and off the job since June 8.

7 China-Backed Mega Deals That Didn't Happen, From Dick Clark to Voltage (Photos)

Chinese companies such as Wang Jianlin's Dalian Wanda Group have spent much of the last few years agreeing to acquire American firms (including several major Hollywood players) at eye-popping prices, but getting those deals across the finish line has been easier said than done.

Here are a few recent proposed mega-deals that didn't happen as intended:
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Dalian Wanda Group fails to close purchase of Dick Clark Productions

Chinese conglomerate Wanda agreed to pay $1 billion for the Golden Globes producer last year. But the deal is not going to close, TheWrap has learned, as Chinese regulators will not approve both the price paid and the amount of cash that would leave the country.
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Wanda is unable to take Legendary Entertainment public, CEO Thomas Tull exits

Last January, Wanda agreed to shell out $3.5 billion for "Jurassic World" production company Legendary. But regulators frowned on Legendary's lack of profitability and complex ownership structure when Wanda tried to fold it into its publicly-traded Wanda Cinema Line, which would have given Legendary CEO Thomas Tull a liquidity event. Tull couldn't cash out and left the company last month.
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Anhui Xinke New Materials backs out of deal to acquire Voltage Pictures

Chinese copper company Anhui Xinke agreed to diversify its holdings by spending $350 million on "The Hurt Locker" production company, but pulled out of the deal in December after failing to secure the documentation required by increasingly scrutinous Chinese regulators.
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Wanda's prospective Paramount investment is taken off the table

One of former Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman's last moves in charge was obtaining an offer from Wanda to acquire 49 percent of Paramount Pictures for as much as $5 billion. But when Dauman lost a power struggle with the Redstone family (which owns the majority of Viacom's stock) and was ousted in August, that deal died too.
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Conglomerate of Chinese buyers fails to seal deal for mobile browser company Opera Software

A handful of Chinese entities seeking to purchase the Norwegian software firm canceled their planned acquisition in July after failing to get government approval in a timely manner.
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Anbang Insurance Group walks away from deal to acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts

In March, the Chinese insurance giant abandoned a deal to acquire the hotel operator for nearly $14 million in cash citing "market considerations," although insiders placed much of the blame on regulatory issues, particularly one limiting the size of foreign transactions to 15 percent of a company's market cap.
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Huayi Bros. fails to come to terms on investment in Studio8

In 2014, Chinese media company Huayi Bros. was unable to consummate an investment in former Warner Bros. chief Jeff Robinov's Studio8. Later that year, Fosun, a different Chinese company, backed Studio8, which has co-financed just two films since.
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Chinese companies have brought a firehose of cash to the U.S. in recent years, but several high-profile deals didn’t come to fruition

Chinese companies such as Wang Jianlin's Dalian Wanda Group have spent much of the last few years agreeing to acquire American firms (including several major Hollywood players) at eye-popping prices, but getting those deals across the finish line has been easier said than done.

Here are a few recent proposed mega-deals that didn't happen as intended:

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