Shanghai-based conglomerate Fosun International (復星) said yesterday it would take a stake in new US media company Studio 8, marking a rare investment by a Chinese firm in Hollywood.
The deal was signed on June 6, Fosun said in a statement, without giving the size of the stake or the price paid.
Studio 8 was founded by Jeff Robinov, a Warner Bros executive for 17 years until he left after reportedly losing an internal competition to become its chief executive.
Privately owned Fosun is a diversified conglomerate with interests ranging from pharmaceuticals to mining.
Cooperation would include bringing Hollywood-style filmmaking to China and introducing “Chinese elements” into co-productions with Studio 8, the statement said.
Fosun said it has previously invested in Chinese media firms, but the deal was its first with Hollywood.
In another Chinese investment in the movie industry, property group Wanda (萬達) bought US cinema chain AMC Entertainment for US$2.6 billion in 2012. Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin (王健林), China’s richest man last year, later hosted Hollywood stars to unveil plans to build a film studio in eastern China.
China was the world’s second-largest box office worth US$3.6 billion last year, behind only North America, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.
Authorities limit foreign films to a quota of just 34 a year. While co-productions can escape the limit, they are still subject to censorship that excises content deemed politically sensitive or obscene.
Fosun said it would be involved in the distribution of Studio 8 movies in China and Taiwan, as well as Hong Kong and Macau.
“Our partnership will combine the resources of China and Hollywood to build a global platform not only focusing on movie and entertainment investment, but also aiming to integrate our resources around the world,” Fosun chairman Guo Guangchang (郭廣昌) — who ranked 31st on Forbes’ China rich list last year — said in the statement.
Investors were unimpressed by the deal. Fosun’s Hong Kong-listed shares were down 0.58 percent to HK$10.32 yesterday afternoon.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that negotiations had failed for another Chinese company, Huayi Brothers Media Corp (華誼兄弟傳媒), to help fund Studio 8.
Huayi had originally pledged to pay as much as US$150 million, which would have made it the largest investment to date by a Chinese company in US film production, the newspaper said.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
RSS