Wanda acquires movie website Mtime for $35m

A Wanda cinema in Yichang, Central China's Hubei province, March 13, 2016. [Photo/IC]

Wanda Cinema Line Co Ltd, the studio arm of Dalian Wanda Group, has announced its plans to wholly purchase Mtime.com, Sina.com reported late Wednesday.

The $280 million acquisition is said to be part of a transitional move for Wanda Cinemas to integrate its online platform and technology.

According to the announcement, Wanda Cinemas will partner with Mtime.com to initiate an all-around integration of their resources and businesses. A new platform that combines offline and online resources will be forged by the pair to seek integrated marketing solutions targeted at some 100 million users.

Founded in 2006, Mtime.com has the second largest film database in the world, as well as solid connections from a network of global film companies. The new partnership will also explore the film merchandise market, and seek innovative online distribution models and other new businesses that appeal to users' tastes and experience.