Domestic real estate developer Dalian Wanda Group Co said on Thursday that it has agreed to acquire the U.S.-based World Triathlon Corp (WTC), the organizer of Ironman extreme endurance contests, for $650 million.
The deal is the third sporting acquisition for Dalian Wanda this year. It bought a 20 percent stake in Spanish football club Atletico Madrid for 45 million euros ($50.8 million) in January and invested more than 1 billion euros in Swiss sports marketing group Infront Sports & Media in February.
Dalian Wanda Chairman Wang Jian-lin, one of the richest men in China, said the company plans to make more acquisitions in the sporting sector, and more deals are expected later this year.
"Wanda has become the largest sports operating company in the world in terms of income," Wang said at a press conference held in Beijing on Thursday.
Triathlons feature three activities - swimming, cycling, and running - completed in succession.
The mix makes them one of the most stimulating and challenging athletic competitions in the world.
Based in Tampa, Florida, the WTC is the world's largest operator of Ironman events, organizing at least 250 competitions every year around the world.
It holds a 91 percent global market share in long-distance triathlon events.
Dalian Wanda said that the WTC's gross revenue has risen at a compound annual growth rate of 40 percent for four consecutive years, while its net profit has grown 40 percent a year.
Wang said that the promotion of the triathlon may involve using live broadcasts with studio audiences who will take part in the competitions, and the company may choose a television center to promote the events, which it hopes will attract China's millions of cyclists and tens of millions of runners.
Wanda owns dozens of shopping malls, cinemas and hotels in China, and it has been diversifying into industries such as sports and entertainment in recent years.
In July, the group said it would acquire three companies overseas and three big companies in China during the second half of this year.
When asked if recent gyrations in the stock market might dampen the group's appetite for overseas acquisitions, Wang said the targets will not change and the stock market will not affect the business performance of Dalian Wanda.
Wang lost $3.6 billion on Monday, the most among all billionaires worldwide, as China's stock markets had the biggest plunge since 2007, bringing more turbulence to the global market, the Guardian reported, citing the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
