Huayi expands TV series business

Film production and distribution company Huayi Brothers Media Group on Tuesday said it plans to buy a 51 percent stake in Zhejiang Yongle Film and TV Co for about 400 million yuan ($65.9 million), to shore up its ailing television series business.

Set up in 2004, Zhejiang Yongle Film and TV Co Ltd is a company that deals with the investment, production and distribution of TV series, Huayi said in a statement.

According to analysts, during the first three quarters of the year, Huayi Brothers reported a 35.38 percent year-on-year decline in TV series revenue to 142 million yuan. The lower TV series revenue also saw the company post lower overall revenue growth of 13.92 percent during the same period compared with 31.17 last year.

The move also marks Huayi Brothers second acquisition of a TV series business. In September, it purchased 70 percent of a television show production company based in East China's Zhejiang Province for 252 million yuan.