‘Dune’ Producer Legendary Entertainment Buys Out Dalian Wanda’s Stake
variety.comBrent Lang Executive Editor Legendary Entertainment, the producer of the “Dune” franchise, has bought out Dalian Wanda Group’s stake in the company.
The pact leaves Legendary and Apollo Global Management in control. Terms of the sale, which Legendary financed itself via cash on its balance sheet, have not been disclosed.
Legendary said it did not rely on outside financing for the transaction. Dalian Wanda Group, a Chinese conglomerate, bought the entertainment company in 2016 for $3.5 billion.
Apollo later bought a stake in Legendary in 2022 for $760 million. Talks to buy out Wanda started roughly six months ago. In an interview, Josh Grode, the CEO of Legendary, said he couldn’t remember if the discussions originated with Legendary or Wanda, but said the deal will help the company when it comes to possible expansion. “We have a good amount of excess liquidity on our balance sheet and this was a chance for us to do something accretive and buy out an investor for the right price,” he said.
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