Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Mar 17, 2015 10:11:15 GMT -6
deadline.com/2015/03/huayi-bros-beijing-enlight-alibaba-china-hollywood-1201393936/
Mystery Surrounds Hollywood Investments By Huayi Bros And Beijing Enlight Media Co.
Mystery surrounds the identity of the two U.S. companies purportedly the beneficiaries of major investments from two of China’s leading film companies: Huayi Brothers Media Corp. and Beijing Enlight Media Co.
Huayi Bros., China’s largest privately held film company, said it was planning on inking an 18-pic co-financing, co-producing and co-distributing deal with an undisclosed American company according to a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. “This is not only a step for Huayi Brothers’ internationalisation, but also the internationalisation of all Chinese film companies,” the filing said.
Seemingly separately, Beijing Enlight Media Co., which last month announced that e-commerce giant Alibaba had acquired an 8.8% stake valued at $380 million, said it was in talks to co-finance and co-produce a major film franchise based on a bestselling series of books with an unnamed foreign company.
Reports have apparently ruled out any of the six studios or the likes of Lionsgate and IM Global being part of the deals. Lionsgate said last week it had closed its deal, first reported in January, with China’s Hunan TV for $375 million in production funding — approximately 25% of the entire Lionsgate production slate — over the next three years.
Incidentally, Alibaba inked its own deal with Huayi Bros last November that covers e-commerce, online entertainment and movie development. The deal will see Alibaba invest 5%-10% of the budget on five Huayi films over the next three years with the two working together on distributing the projects.
The pseudo-announcements from the two top companies has raised eyebrows both in Hollywood and in China. “Is it normal in the West when you’re announcing a deal not to mention both parties?” asks one senior Chinese film exec. “I don’t think so. It’s not normal in China either. I’m not saying the deals aren’t real, but maybe they haven’t closed them yet. It’s strange.”
Film announcements coming out of China have been a dime a dozen in recent months as deep-pocketed players from the Middle Kingdom seek to increase their influence in the film biz and Western execs appear all too happy to help them spend their cash. While some of these announcements/deals have fallen by the wayside — just witness Jeff Berg’s ill-fated experience with Bison Capital — Huayi and Enlight are two stellar companies with solid track records. Huayi Bros previously considered investing some $120 million in Jeff Robinov’s Studio 8 before pulling back at the last minute. The company eventually launched its own fully-owned U.S. division capitalized to the tune of $130 million.
Mystery Surrounds Hollywood Investments By Huayi Bros And Beijing Enlight Media Co.
Mystery surrounds the identity of the two U.S. companies purportedly the beneficiaries of major investments from two of China’s leading film companies: Huayi Brothers Media Corp. and Beijing Enlight Media Co.
Huayi Bros., China’s largest privately held film company, said it was planning on inking an 18-pic co-financing, co-producing and co-distributing deal with an undisclosed American company according to a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. “This is not only a step for Huayi Brothers’ internationalisation, but also the internationalisation of all Chinese film companies,” the filing said.
Seemingly separately, Beijing Enlight Media Co., which last month announced that e-commerce giant Alibaba had acquired an 8.8% stake valued at $380 million, said it was in talks to co-finance and co-produce a major film franchise based on a bestselling series of books with an unnamed foreign company.
Reports have apparently ruled out any of the six studios or the likes of Lionsgate and IM Global being part of the deals. Lionsgate said last week it had closed its deal, first reported in January, with China’s Hunan TV for $375 million in production funding — approximately 25% of the entire Lionsgate production slate — over the next three years.
Incidentally, Alibaba inked its own deal with Huayi Bros last November that covers e-commerce, online entertainment and movie development. The deal will see Alibaba invest 5%-10% of the budget on five Huayi films over the next three years with the two working together on distributing the projects.
The pseudo-announcements from the two top companies has raised eyebrows both in Hollywood and in China. “Is it normal in the West when you’re announcing a deal not to mention both parties?” asks one senior Chinese film exec. “I don’t think so. It’s not normal in China either. I’m not saying the deals aren’t real, but maybe they haven’t closed them yet. It’s strange.”
Film announcements coming out of China have been a dime a dozen in recent months as deep-pocketed players from the Middle Kingdom seek to increase their influence in the film biz and Western execs appear all too happy to help them spend their cash. While some of these announcements/deals have fallen by the wayside — just witness Jeff Berg’s ill-fated experience with Bison Capital — Huayi and Enlight are two stellar companies with solid track records. Huayi Bros previously considered investing some $120 million in Jeff Robinov’s Studio 8 before pulling back at the last minute. The company eventually launched its own fully-owned U.S. division capitalized to the tune of $130 million.