Wanda Faces Hurdles in Closing Dick Clark Prods. Deal (EXCLUSIVE)

As an update from an earlier post, we see Donald Trump stepping in to save what little American industry remains.

For additional information on the Chinese invasion and infiltration of Hollywood, see the following previous posts:

Paramount Gets China Infusion: $1 Billion, 3-Year Slate Co-Financing Deal With Shanghai Film Group & Huahua Media

Chinese conglomerate to buy stake in Hollywood studio: reports

China Invading Hollywood

 

Sources close to the situation still expect Wanda to close the acquisition sometime in February, and say that the only speed bump has been that some details are still being worked out. With the Chinese New Year holiday beginning on Saturday, work is expected to be halted for at least the next week.

One person said that work on the deal also came to a standstill a few weeks ago, amid concerns that the nationalistic focus of the new Trump administration might mean greater scrutiny to big investments in the U.S. by Wanda, Alibaba and the new breed of Sino mega conglomerates. The Dick Clark Prods. transaction was only the most recent mega-acquisition for Wanda, which also bought Legendary Entertainment for $3.5 billion last year and AMC Theaters for $2.6 billion in 2012. Wanda’s buying spree has caught the attention of members of both parties in Congress, who worry that they could mark a strategic extension of Chinese “soft power.”

U.S. unlikely to block Chinese purchase of Smithfield

The U.S. government should soon give the go-ahead for the largest ever Chinese acquisition of a U.S. company: a Chinese food group’s $4.7-billion (U.S.) deal to buy Smithfield Foods Inc., a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Government approval of the purchase of Smithfield by Shuanghui International Holdings would be a major step forward for the deal. But it still needs shareholder approval, and at least one substantial shareholder is looking for a higher price.