Dalian Wanda Group said earlier this week that it is in negotiations to merge with or buy a U.S. hotel chain.
Dalian Wanda Group said earlier this week that it is in negotiations to merge with or buy a U.S. hotel chain. The announcement comes after the conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, Dalian, China, purchased the U.S. cinema chain AMC Entertainment for US$2.6 billion in September. In an interview with Reuters, Wang Jianlin, Dalian Wanda Group chairman, said that his company in talks with “well-known” hotel brands for “mergers and acquisitions” as well as the city governments of New York City, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C for the construction of hotels. Jianlin did not specify which hotel companies he was in talks with, though. Dalian Wanda is already active in the Chinese hotel market with its subsidiaries Wanda Hotels & Resorts, a hotel management company and hotel developer Wanda Hotel Investment & Development Co. Last month Dalian Wanda opened the 5-star, 230-room Wanda Realm Huai"an Hotel, located in Huai"an, China. Wanda Hotels & Resorts says it plans to open 16 hotels next year. Jialin is ranked by Forbes as China’s third-richest person. Overall Dalian Wanda will invest US$10 billion in the U.S. over the next decade, Jianlin said, including possible investments with U.S. film studios to produce films for the Chinese market. |