Wanda, run by China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, said in a statement on Friday (November 4) it would buy all of Dick Clark Productions, an iconic name in U.S. entertainment that also produces the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Billboard Music Awards.

Dick Clark’s owner, media investment holding company Eldridge Industries, had said it was in talks with Wanda in September. Founded by TV presenter Dick Clark, host of the “American Bandstand” pop music TV show from 1957 to 1987, the eponymous firm went public in 1986 before being taken private 16 years later.

Wanda’s deal is its latest move in a cruise into Hollywood. It already owns LegendaryEntertainment, co-producer of film hits such as “Jurassic World”, and U.S. cinema chain AMCEntertainment Holdings Inc. It also has business ties with Sony Pictures and Sony Corp’s film unit in China.

The drive has raised concern among some U.S. lawmakers about China’s influence in Hollywood and the impact it might have on media in the United States. Wang has said his motivation comes from a “business perspective” and not a political one.

Wanda said in its statement that the deal marked its “first step” into television content to sit alongside its investments in theme parks, film production and sport. It added it would keep Dick Clark’s current management team after the deal.

In August, Wang told Reuters he expected to seal two billion-dollar deals in the U.S. this year. He aims to bring Hollywood technology and muscle to China, and has expressed interest in the so-called “big six” Hollywood studios.

Wang is now trying to attract Hollywood film makers with subsidies to a new production studio in China’s eastern city of Qingdao. Meanwhile U.S. film producers are also looking for a way into China’s fast-growing cinema market.

Wang predicts the Chinese box office would match the biggest market – the United States and Canada – by 2018, and grow by about 15 percent annually for the next 10 years.

Reuters first reported in June that Eldridge Industries, the U.S. owner of magazines Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter as well as Dick Clark Productions, had hired investment banks to carry out a review of its media holdings

An Eldridge representative was not immediately available for comment outside regular U.S. business hours.

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Run by China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, Wanda already owns Legendary Entertainment, co-producer of film hits such as “Jurassic World” – which was the biggest U.S.-China movie deal when it was sealed in January. It also owns U.S. cinema chain AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC.N).

A source familiar with deal said Wanda was looking to bid $1 billion for the TV production company, but cautioned the deal was not yet certain. The person could not be named as the deal value is not public.

“Dick Clark Productions and Beijing Wanda Culture Industry Group Co., Ltd., have agreed to enter into exclusive talks with the shared goal of finalizing a mutually satisfactory transaction,” a spokesman for Eldridge Industries, the owner of Dick Clark Productions, said in an emailed statement.

He declined to comment on the deal value.

Wanda declined to comment on Tuesday.

Last month, however, Wang told Reuters he expected to seal two billion-dollar deals in the U.S. this year. He aims to bring Hollywood technology and muscle to China, and has expressed interest in the so-called “big six” Hollywood studios.

“Only the six are real global film companies, while the rest are not. If we are to build a real movie empire, this is a necessary step,” Wang said then.

Revenue from Wanda’s cultural division, which also includes its growing tourism business, theme parks and sports, is expected to grow at least 30 percent this year, potentially reaching 70 billion yuan ($10.5 billion), according to Wang.

Wanda has said that revenue for the group would amount to 150 billion yuan by 2020, a target that Wang said could be met before then.

The acquisition of Dick Clark, an iconic name in Hollywood, would be the latest move to further Wanda’s Hollywood ambitions.

Wanda announced last week that it will market Sony Pictures’ films and co-finance upcoming movie releases of Sony Corp’s (6758.T) film unit in China.

Reuters first reported in June that Eldridge Industries, the U.S. owner of magazines Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter as well as Dick Clark Productions, had hired investment banks to carry out a review of its media holdings.

Based in Santa Monica, California, Dick Clark Productions also produces the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Billboard Music Awards.

Investment firm Guggenheim Partners bought Dick Clark Productions in 2012 for about $380 million from RedZone Capital Management, a private equity firm run by Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder.

Last year, Eldridge Industries majority owner and Chief Executive Todd Boehly left Guggenheim, where he served as president, to start his own company that holds these media assets.

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