A unit of Tang Media Partners, an investment group set up with the goal of marrying Hollywood magic with China’s market power, is in the hands of bankers after violating the conditions of its loan agreements.
Tang Media, which has offices in Los Angeles and Shanghai, was set up by businessman and former Bear Stearns banker Donald Tang in 2015. It was bolstered by an initial fundraising that tapped some of China’s leading investors, including Li Ruigang’s China Media Group, China Everbright, Tencent and Sequoia Capital China’s Neil Shen.
Last year, the company bought Open Road, a US film studio whose titles include Oscar-winner Spotlight, and brought in veteran Hollywood studio executive Rob Friedman to run it. That followed Tang Media’s 2016 purchase of a controlling stake in film financier and sales agency IM Global. The two were combined and renamed Global Road Entertainment.