萬達快速佈局娛樂業後的如意算盤大綱
Chalk up a win for Wanda Group. The unlisted Chinese conglomerate will pay $3.5bn for Legendary Entertainment, the US media company behind films including Jurassic World and The Dark Knight. The deal will be Wanda’s largest to date, according to Dealogic.
萬達集團(Wanda Group)贏了一個回合。這家未上市的中國企業集團將斥資35億美元收購傳奇娛樂(Legendary Entertainment)，這家美國媒體公司曾出品《侏羅紀世界》和《蝙蝠俠：黑暗騎士》等賣座的大片。Dealogic數據顯示，這將是萬達迄今最大的一筆交易。（上圖爲傳奇娛樂投資的電影《侏羅紀世界》）
Wanda’s founder Wang JianLin has acquired plenty of other overseas trophies in recent years, but this move makes strategic sense, too. China’s entertainment market is Growing rapidly and is an area of increasing focus for Wanda Group; last weekend Wanda said 2015 revenues for its culture and tourism arm, Wanda Cultural Industry (which accounts for 17 per cent of the total top line), were up nearly one-half year on year against group revenues up a fifth. Growth at Shenzhen-listed subsidiary Wanda Cinema Line was similarly racy.
萬達創始人王健林近年在海外收購不少戰利品式的資產，但這筆交易在戰略上是有道理的。中國的文化娛樂市場正快速增長，且也是萬達集團越來越關注的領域；最近萬達宣佈旗下文化旅遊業務——萬達文化產業集團(Wanda Cultural Industry)的2015年總收入（佔集團總收入的17%）同比增長近50%，而集團總收入增長五分之一。在深圳上市的子公司萬達電影院線(Wanda Cinema Line)也有同樣快速的增長。
Despite this rapid pace of growth, China’s movie-goers are underserviced. At the end of 2014, there were only half as many cinemas in China as the US, according to EntGroup; this is set to grow. Content, too, presents opportunities. Chinese film production went from 91 in 2010 to 320 in 2014, accounting for just over half of the total box-office receipts. Hollywood films are subject to a quota of 34 a year, but joint productions involving Hollywood studios and a local partner fall outside this quota and do not have to pay 14 per cent of box office takings to the state distributor.
雖然增長速度如此快，但中國的電影院數量仍相對不足。據EntGroup的數據，在2014年底，中國的影院數量只有美國的一半；這注定將會增長。內容方面同樣也展示着機遇。中國製作的電影數量已從2010年的91部增長至2014年的320部，帶來的票房收入略高於票房總收入的一半。好萊塢電影受每年不超過34部的配額限制，但由好萊塢聯手本地合作伙伴製作的電影不受配額限制，也不用向國有發行商繳納14%的票房收入。
The Legendary deal offers Wanda the opportunity to grow rapidly in what remains a fragmented market; in 2014, Wanda Media was the second-biggest distributor, with just 3 per cent of China’s local language box office. By contrast, the lead studio in the US last year, Universal, had a share of one-fifth, according to Box Office Mojo (helped by Jurassic World, which was its top-grossing film). Buying Legendary will not just give Wanda exclusive access to the company’s back catalogue of blockbusters, it will also bring expertise. That has the potential to add up to a much bigger win.
收購傳奇娛樂的交易，在一個仍然分散的市場爲萬達提供了快速增長的機會；2014年，萬達影視(Wanda Media)是規模第二的發行商，僅擁有3%的國內票房。相比之下，票房統計網站Box Office Mojo的數據顯示，美國去年排名第一的製片商環球影業(Universal)擁有本土五分之一的票房（得益於其最賣座電影《侏羅紀世界》）。收購傳奇娛樂不僅可以讓萬達獨家獲取該公司庫藏的大片目錄，還將爲其帶來專業知識。這將有可能帶來更大的利好。
