GreenPlease wrote:
1poseur1 wrote:
Chinese ponzi scheme/real estate developer/endurance sports behemoth is hitting a wall in its entertainment business. Over-levered conglomerates with no coherent business strategy do not end well. I wonder how long before they sell WTC? https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-18/beijing-confidential-chinese-firm-s-hollywood-expansion-blocked
I was going to bring this up as well. It's hard to know just how deep Wanda's pockets are and what assets they'll prioritize in the event of a liquidity crunch.
While some of Wanda's purchases do not make sense, others seem to be part of a coherent growth strategy. Consider these Wanda purchases:
Infront Sports & Media - a Swiss company whose CEO has completed over a dozen Ironman races.
World Triathlon Corporation - my understanding is that the WTC CEO reports to the more experienced Ironman finisher at Infront.
Competitor Group - seen as an important feeder to triathlon. Expect to see Ironman booths at RnR events in the near future.
Miscellaneous major running and cycling events in Europe, Australia and South Africa.
There is a pattern here and you don't sell a major component of your car if that would compromise its functional purpose. Meanwhile, if you look at WTC's current and old address, you will see they moved to a new location in Tampa. Inside scoop is that they are preparing to move Competitor Group from San Diego to Tampa and they needed a larger space.
Ever since Wanda purchased WTC, I've noticed an anti-Chinese bias on ST and in social media as if only a U.S. business has the right to manage the Ironman franchise, and as if Wanda is clueless on how to run it. But these purchases make strategic sense and will hopefully leverage the sport in a positive direction.