DALIAN Wanda Group’s founder Wang Jianlin is planning to sell the rest of the firm’s film unit as the troubled Chinese conglomerate faces increasing debt repayment pressure.

The billionaire plans to transfer his 51 per cent stake in Beijing Wanda Investment, which controls Wanda Film Holding, to a subsidiary of China Ruyi Holdings, according to a Shenzhen Stock Exchange filing on Wednesday (Dec 6). That will give Ruyi full ownership after its July purchase of 49 per cent of Beijing Wanda Investment for 2.3 billion yuan (S$432 million).

The filing didn’t disclose details on the value of the purchase. China Ruyi’s Hong Kong-listed shares jumped as much as 9.6 per cent before trading 2.8 per cent higher by 3:23 pm local time. Wanda Film’s shares remain halted.

An exit from the film business, one of Wanda’s core operations, brings to an end Wang’s ambitions of turning his firm into a rival of Walt Disney. The group has been in decline for years after the stock-market bubble burst in 2015 and China cracked down on excessive debt-fuelled expansion by some local firms.

Its been forced to shed a raft of assets that once brought it clout, including a stake in Spanish soccer club Atletico Madrid and the world’s largest cinema chain AMC Entertainment Holdings And Wang’s personal fortune has dived from a peak of US$46.1 billion in mid-2015 to US$6.2 billion.

China’s latest economic slowdown and property market crisis has deepened the company’s woes. Investors last month rejected Wanda’s proposal to extend the deadline for the repayment of 30 billion yuan plus interest if its mall unit fails to list shares by the end of this year. Its property arm only recently managed to obtain consent from creditors to push back the maturity date for a US$600 million US dollar bond.

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Wanda Film operates more than 800 movie theatres across China as well as Australian cinema chain Hoyts Group. It’s also invested in the production of some successful Chinese films including The Wandering Earth II and No More Bets, the country’s second- and third-highest grossing titles this year, according financial results for the three months through September.

The company has been given a boost this year from Chinese consumers’ turn to experience-led spending, including going to the cinema, over buying products amid an uncertain economic outlook. It reported profit of 692 million yuan for the third quarter, compared with 48 million yuan for the same period last year, when China was in the throes of strict Covid curbs like lockdowns.

China Ruyi operates businesses in film and television drama production, online streaming and gaming. Its shareholders include tech giant Tencent Holdings, according to its interim financial report. BLOOMBERG