Paramount Pictures, the Viacom Corp.-owned studio that has struggled at the box office for several years, is getting a financial boost from two Chinese media companies.
Shanghai Film Group and Huahua Media have agreed to co-finance the studio’s slate of films over the next three years, the companies said in a statement Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed but the partnership will be worth as much as $1 billion in financing to the studio, according to a person briefed on the pact.
In addition, Shanghai Film Group and Huahua Media will open and jointly maintain an office on the Paramount lot in Los Angeles starting later this year.
The deal marks the latest move by Chinese companies to invest in Hollywood and comes nearly three months after Viacom’s board rejected a plan to sell a 49% stake in Paramount Pictures to China’s Dalian Wanda Group. Wanda subsequently signed a deal to invest an undisclosed amount in Sony Pictures movies. Wanda has also acquired Dick Clark Productions, Legendary Pictures and the AMC theater chain.
