China’s Wanda Group to Buy AMC Cinema Chain for $2.6 Billion

China’s largest entertainment group agreed to buy AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. for $2.6 billion including debt, expanding into the U.S. to create the world’s biggest cinema owner.

The deal by Dalian Wanda Group, controlled by billionaire real-estate developer Wang Jianlin, marks the largest-ever buyout of a U.S. company by a Chinese firm, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Wanda, based in Dalian, northeast China, is also looking to buy a European cinema operator, Wang said in an interview via a translator today.