Chinese company Recon Group is close to acquiring Millennium Films, the production company behind “The Expendables,” according to a Bloomberg report.
Recon’s chairman Tony Xia has proven that he’s willing to spend money to crack western markets. While certainly not as far west as Hollywood, he recently dropped $109 million to buy soccer club Aston Villa. The team was previously part of Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner’s portfolio.
Millennium Films did not immediately respond to TheWrap‘s request for comment on the apparent talks. Bloomberg cited two sources who wished to remain anonymous, due to the private nature of the negotiations.
Millennium also produced “Olympus Has Fallen” and Jason Statham’s “The Mechanic,” the latter of which was a huge box office hit in China. A mega-star in the far east, Statham will lead upcoming Chinese-U.S. co-production “MEG,” which is slated for a March 2018 release.