Dalian Wanda’s US$1bn deal to buy Dick Clark unravels

Eldridge Industries, the US owner of Dick Clark Productions Inc, said on Friday that one of its affiliates terminated an agreement to sell off the TV production company to Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group.

Eldridge, which also owns magazines such as the Billboard and the Hollywood Reporter, said the affiliate terminated the agreement after Wanda failed to honour contractual obligations.

In February, it was reported that Dalian Wanda’s proposed US$1 billion purchase of Dick Clark Productions was under pressure but not yet over, amid high US-China tensions and tight scrutiny by Beijing on outbound deals.

Dalian Wanda had agreed to a takeover in November of Dick Clark Productions, the company that runs the Golden Globe awards and Miss America pageants, extending the Chinese property-to-entertainment conglomerate’s buying spree in Hollywood.

Wanda, run by China’s richest man Wang Jianlin, already owns Legendary Entertainment, co-producer of films such as “Jurassic World”, and US cinema chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc .