The owner of Dick Clark Productions, the producer of the Golden Globe awards show, started evaluating a sale of the firm after receiving an expression of interest from an unnamed Chinese media firm, the New York Times reported.
As reported, Dick Clark, currently owned by Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder’s Red Zone Capital, has hired investment bank Raine Group to help it explore strategic options and reach out to potential buyers. The Times said that buyers might include Chinese media companies, but also private equity firms.
The reported interest from China comes amid a recent slew of deals between Hollywood studios and Chinese companies and the decision by China's Wanda Group to acquire U.S. movie theater giant AMC Entertainment.
Red Zone bought Dick Clark from another investment group in 2007 for $175 million.
The exploration of a sale is not tied to the death of company founder Dick Clark this spring as he had no ownership or management role, the Times said.
It is, however, tied to the company’s court victory against the Hollywood Foreign Press Association last month that confirmed that the firm was within its rights to keep the Golden Globes show on NBC through 2018, it said.