Wang expands movie empire with Carmike buy

New York

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc, controlled by China's richest man, has agreed to buy Carmike Cinemas Inc in a US$1.1 billion all-cash deal that would create the world's largest cinema chain.

AMC, majority-owned by billionaire Wang Jianlin's Dalian Wanda Group Co, will pay US$30 a share for Carmike, a 19 per cent premium over its closing stock price on Thursday, according to a statement from the companies.

The agreement combines the second and fourth-biggest US movie theatre chains and vaults the resulting entity past Regal Entertainment Group.

The deal, the latest sign of China's growing influence i…