By Wang Lan (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-11-02 10:11

The mainland-based Chengtian Entertainment Group paid HK$202 million for a 24.78 percent stake in Golden Harvest Group, becoming the first mainland company to acquire a major interest in a Hong Kong-listed company.

In a statement Thursday evening, Chengtian said it bought the shares from Golden Harvest founder Reymond Chow and related parties. On completion of transaction, Chengtian will become the single largest shareholder in Golden harvest, well known for pioneering Kung-fu movies in the 70s and 80s.

Golden Harvest's productions include box office hits such as Bruce Lee's "Way of the Dragon" and Jackie Chan's "Police Story." It is also the first Hong Kong film company to have established a presence in the US market.

Chengtian's founder and chairman Wu Kebo, said in the statement that combining the respective the two companies will raise the group's film business to a higher level. He said his group is planning to produce no less than 20 films a year.

Film distribution is one of Golden Harvest's core businesses. The company is a major distributor of Chinese language films in Hong Kong via its Gala cinema subsidiary. It also owns a film library with about 140 films for global distribution.

Chengtian Entertainment Group was founded in 2004. Avex Group Holdings of Japan purchased a 20 percent stake in Septmber 2006. Chengtian currently is engaged in film and television production and distribution, music production, online music platform infrastructure, and artist management.