Chinese real estate giant buys stake in Atletico Madrid

Wang Jianlin:

Wang Jianlin served in the army for 16 years before becoming the chairman of Dalian Wanda Group in 1989.

The 60-year-old has a personal wealth of 80.78 billion yuan, and was ranked the fourth richest Chinese by Forbes magazine in October.

The company's recent plan to go public with its commercial properties and entertainment businesses are expected to make Wang surpass Jack Ma Yun, executive chairman of Alibaba Group, and return to the top of the list.

Recent moves:

Dec 2 – Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co, a real estate development arm of the group, won approval from Hong Kong Stock Exchange for its initial public offering. The company plans to raise about $4 billion and start trading by the end of the month, according to Bloomberg.

Dec 1 – Dalian Wanda Group is in talks to acquire a stake in Lions Gate Entertainment Corp, a $4.7 billion studio behind “The Hunger Games” films, Bloomberg reported.

Nov 28 – Wanda Cinema Line Co Ltd, a theater arm controlled by the group, received listing approval from Chinese regulatory. It expects to raise up to 2 billion yuan in the IPO.

Nov 24 – Dalian Wanda Group announced its plan to expand its luxury hotel business and establish over 150 premium hotels across the globe by the end of 2018.

Aug 29 – Wang Jianlin announced a 5 billion yuan joint investment in e-commerce with Internet magnates Pony Ma Huateng of Tencent and Robin Li Yanhong of Baidu. Under the agreement, Dalian Wanda Group will control 70 percent of the shares in the new joint venture.

Aug 8 – Wanda said it plans to invest $1.2 billion to develop a plot of land in Beverly Hills, California, and will set up a local office to do deals in Hollywood, according to Bloomberg.