Dick Clark Productions isn’t exactly a household name. Most people probably don’t even notice when it scrolls across the screen at the end of the Golden Globes telecast or some other awards show. But a Chinese billionaire just agreed to buy it for about $1 billion—and that’s just the beginning.
The company’s new owner is Wang Jianlin, a 62-year-old former People’s Liberation Army commander turned real estate developer. He is one of China’s richest men, with a net worth estimated at $32 billion.
Wang controls the Dalian Wanda Group, and already owns a few U.S. entertainment interests, including the AMC movie theater chain, which he acquired in 2012 for $2.6 billion. That company has since agreed to buy competitor Carmike Cinemas for $1.4 billion, which will make Wanda the largest theater owner in the world.
In January, the Wanda Group paid $3.5 billion in cash for Legendary Entertainment, the movie studio that has either produced or co-financed films such as Pacific Rim and The Dark Knight.
Wanda—which had revenues last year of $39 billion—owns 134 shopping malls, 82 luxury hotels, 213 movie theaters, 99 department…