HONG KONG — Dalian Wanda Group’s $2.6 billion acquisition of U.S.-based AMC Entertainment Holdings in 2012 was historic not only for the Chinese buyer, but also for corporate China overall.
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The purchase of the second-largest cinema operator globally drew parallels with Sony’s takeover of Columbia Pictures in 1989, when Japanese money was gobbling up landmark assets in the U.S. and worldwide.
But while Columbia Pictures remains a core part of Sony’s portfolio, Wanda Group over the past few days has unloaded virtually its entire remaining interest in AMC as part of an international retrenchment by the once-acquisitive conglomerate.
“Wanda Group has completely withdrawn from the AMC board,” the Chinese company said in a statement Sunday. A Wanda filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday said the group now only holds 10,000 AMC shares, or 0.002% of its outstanding stock.