Wanda’s deal scrapped

NEW YORK: Eldridge Industries, the U.S. owner of Dick Clark Productions Inc, said on Friday that one of its affiliates terminated an agreement to sell off the TV production company to Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group.

Eldridge, which also owns magazines such as the Billboard and the Hollywood Reporter, said the affiliate terminated the agreement after Wanda failed to honor contractual obligations.

In February, Reuters reported that Dalian Wanda's proposed $1 billion purchase of Dick Clark Productions was under pressure but not yet over, amid high U.S.-China tensions and tight scrutiny by Beijing on outbound deals.

Dalian Wanda, in November, had agreed to a takeover of Dick Clark Productions, the company that runs the Golden Globe awards and Miss America pageants, extending the Chinese property-to-entertainment conglomerate's buying spree in Hollywood.