AMC Entertainment, the second largest movie theater chain in North America, is being acquired by Beijing-based Dalian Wanda Group Co. Ltd. for $2.6 billion, which will create the world’s largest cinema company. AMC Theaters (American Multi-Cinema) currently has about 5,325 screens, and Dalian is China’s largest cinema company. AMC will keep its Kansas City headquarters, and Dalian Wanda plans to invest $500 million in the chain in the future.
AMC had previous merged with Loew’s Cineplex Entertainment in 2005, and presently operates 346 multiplexes. Dalian Wanda presently operates about 86 theaters with 730 screens, bringing in an annual revenue of $16.7 billion, with assets of $35 billion. Wang Jianlin, Chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, is a member of the Communist Party of China, and is the 232nd richest man in the world, with $7.1 billion.
AMC Entertainment was founded in 1920, and currently has roughly 18,500 employees, with locations in locations in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Hong Kong. AMC is the second largest theatre chain in the U.S., after the Regal Entertainment Group.