China 8217 s Wanda buys Ironman Triathlon owner

The purchase is Wanda’s latest sporting acquisition.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

Chinese group Dalian Wanda said today (August 27th) that it has bought the organiser of Ironman Triathlon races for $650 million (£420 million). It bought World Triathlon Corp from US fund Providence Equity Partners LLC. Ironman includes a 3.9 km swim, a 180 km bike ride and 42.2 km run, completed in under 17 hours. 

The purchase is Wanda's latest sporting acquisition after Swiss marketer Infront Sports & Media acquired a stake in soccer club Atletico Madrid, Reuters reports. 

The group is looking to offset a slowdown in China's domestic property market with a move into entertainment. It aims for revenue of $100 billion by 2020 from $40 billion in 2014, with Ironman alone bringing in $183 million this year.

"Wanda's next task is to widely market this global extreme, endurance sport in China," said owner Wang Jianlin. He added that the group would likely buy another sports company before the end of the year.

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