Dalian Wanda Group Co Ltd (Wanda Group) on Tuesday announced that it has acquired Legendary Entertainment for a reported $3.5 billion in cash, making it China's largest cross-border cultural acquisition to date.

Thomas Tull will remain as chairman and CEO of Legendary and will continue to be responsible for its day-to-day operations.

Legendary is a leading film production company based in Burbank, California, with film, television, digital and comics divisions. Legendary has delivered many of the world's blockbusters, including the Batman trilogy, Inception, The Hangover, Jurassic World, 300: Rise of an Empire, Pacific Rim, Man of Steel, and more.

"The acquisition of Legendary will make Wanda Film Holdings Company the highest revenue-generating film company in the world, increasing Wanda's presence in China and the US, the world's two largest markets," said Wang Jianlin, chairman of Wanda Group.

"Wanda's businesses will encompass the full scope of film production, exhibition and distribution, enhancing Wanda's core competitiveness and amplifying our voice in the global film market," he said.

Tull said in a statement that Wanda and Legendary "will create a completely new international entertainment company. There is an ever growing demand for quality entertainment content worldwide, particularly in China, and we will combine our respective strengths to bring an even better entertainment experience to the world's audiences."

Stanley Rosen, Chinese film expert and professor of political science at the University of Southern California, said that the deal "makes a lot of sense for Wang Jianlin and he's gotten a lot of publicity out of it. Everybody seems to be very interested."

Rob Cain, a producer who has worked on US-China film productions, said that the acquisition is a good move for Wanda as it will get a prominent piece of Hollywood.

"They're buying into some good relationships, a mixed track record but nonetheless a track record with some success. The types of movies that Legendary is focused on making are good fits for China," he said.

Cain said the deal proves that Wang Jianlin is someone who makes a statement on future investments and then sees them through. But the $3.5 billion price tag for Legendary Pictures is hefty, he said.

"I don't understand the numbers. He overpaid for AMC, and it looks like he's way overpaying for Legendary," said Cain.

Legendary's own pictures have not been box office successes, with the studio forced to take writedowns on movies like Blackhat and Seventh Son.

"While it's true that Legendary has been hit-or-miss in the past, the deal gives Wanda a direct line of access in the production side of the business with a company that has several high-profile titles in its track record," said Daniel Loria, senior overseas analyst for BoxOffice.com. "Legendary might not be the hottest property on the block, but they have proven they are able to get big films right."

After the acquisition, Wanda will help Legendary increase its market opportunities, especially in the fast-growing China market, enabling Legendary to expedite the growth of the company, Wanda said.

Wang said at the announcement that Wanda Group would start integrating production and release assets, going public as soon as possible. But he didn't disclose which capital market Wanda would chose, saying it's still under consideration.

Contact the writers at huyuanyuan@chinadaily.com.cn