Wanda’s sports arm to open global headquarters in Guangzhou

Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin addresses the audience at the ceremony in Guangzhou.
Guangzhou Mayor Chen Jianhua and Wanda Cultural Industry Group President Zhang Lin take a photo.Wanda Sports Holdings Limited (Wanda Sports) announced on December 28, 2015 that its global headquarters would be based in Huadu District, Guangzhou in Guangdong Province.

Wanda Sports will be the world’s largest sports company and has a total registered capital of RMB1 billion.

This year, Wanda acquired Infront Sports & Media and World Triathlon Corp as well as bought a stake in Spanish football club Atlético de Madrid developing a well-connected industry chain spanning sporting event organization, marketing and broadcasting to athlete representation. Wanda Sports now operates over two-dozen sporting events including winter sports, football, and triathlon and has 25 offices in 13 countries. It’s now the world’s No. 1 broadcaster and marketer of winter sports events and football competitions. It’s also a strategic partner of seven major international associations for winter games and is the broadcasting rights holder for selected territories is Asia of the FIFA World Cup.

Wanda Sports will continue to search for takeover targets worldwide to expand its influence in the global sports industry and further the development of China’s sports industry. The company aims to become the world’s first sports company with annual revenue in excess of US$10 billion.

Mr. Wang Jianlin, Chairman of Wanda Group, said Wanda Sports chose Guangzhou as its global headquarters because of its superior natural conditions, great culture of mass sports, state-of-the-art sporting facilities as well as its position as an international transportation hub, which are all necessary factors for holding international sporting activities. Wanda Sports will leverage the city’s favourable investment climate to rapidly scale its footprint. It plans to introduce two international sporting events per year to Guangzhou within the next three years and build the city into China’s “sporting capital” to facilitate the government’s push for industry transformation.

Mr. Chen Jianhua, Mayor of Guangzhou, said Wanda Sports made a landmark decision to be headquartered in Guangzhou. A series of prominent international sports events to be introduced to Guangzhou will not only improve local citizens’ physical fitness, but will enhance the city’s overall character.