(Adds stock prices)
By Dhanya Ann Thoppil
BANGALORE--India's Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Group Thursday
said it and privately held conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group Corp. of
China have entered a long-term real-estate and media
partnership.
Reliance Group didn't immediately provide any financial details
of the partnership.
Dalian Wanda couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Wanda Group is best known outside China for its $2.6 billion
purchase of U.S. cinema chain AMC Entertainment Holdings in May. It
also builds shopping malls.
The partners will develop the 54.5-hectare Dhirubhai Ambani
Knowledge City complex in Mumbai owned by Reliance Communications
Ltd. (532712.BY), Reliance Group said in a statement. As much as 10
million square feet of floor space can be built on the land, the
company said.
The real-estate partnership may help the Indian company monetize
some of its land holdings and help it with its debt, but not
substantially, analysts said Thursday.
Reliance has been trying to sell a stake in telecom unit
Reliance Communications.
Reliance Communications, India's third-largest
mobile-phone-services provider by customers, has $7 billion in
debt.
The partners will also expand a business district owned by
Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. (500390.BY) in Hyderabad, south India,
the Reliance statement added.
Reliance MediaWorks Ltd. (532399.BY), a large India-based
cinema-chain operator, will work with Wanda Group in India and the
U.S.
Reliance MediaWorks owns 490 screens in the U.S., India,
Malaysia and Nepal as well as a film company.
In July, Reliance MediaWorks said it signed a term sheet with an
international private-equity fund to sell a "substantial" minority
stake in a unit of the company. There is a 90-day exclusivity
clause.
It wasn't immediately clear if this deal has gone through. A
spokeswoman for Reliance MediaWorks wasn't immediately available
for comment.
Shares of Reliance Communications, Reliance Infrastructure and
Reliance MediaWorks ended lower Thursday on the Bombay Stock
Exchange.
Reliance Communications ended 3.4% down at 74.65 rupees, while
Reliance Infrastructure fell 2.2% to 514.90 rupees and Reliance
MediaWorks dropped 2.8% to 81.30 rupees. The benchmark Sensitive
Index ended 0.7% lower.
Write to Dhanya Ann Thoppil at dhanya.thoppil@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires