The photo shows some of Huayi Brother's shareholders: Huayi Brothers co-president Wang Zhonglei (L1), film director Feng Xiaogang (L2), Huayi Brothers co-president Wang Zhongjun (M), founder and CEO of the Alibaba Group Ma Yun (R2), film director and producer Zhang Jizhong (R1). [Photo: dfdaily.com]
by Xu Leiying
Bona Film Group Limited (BONA), China's leading privately owned film distributor, is scheduled to go public on December 9th on the Nasdaq Global Market of the United States, the Shanghai Evening Post reported.
The company plans to sell up to an estimated $80 million of American depositary shares in its initial public offering.
The initial public offering price is expected to range between 7 and 9 US dollars per share.
The company, founded in 1999, started its business in the field of movie distribution under the name of Beijing Bona Cultural Exchange Company.
It was the first private enterprise that received a movie distribution license from China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.
In November 2003, Bona merged with the China Poly Group to form PolyBona Film Distribution, the company's former English name.
That same year, the company began to enter the field of filmmaking. Its movies include hits such as Hong Kong director Teddy Chan's Bodyguards and Assassins.
Last year, Bona set up a branch to expand its distribution business into overseas markets. In 2009, Bona Movie and South Korean media giant CJ Entertainment joined forces to make a successful collaboration, Sophie's Revenge, starring Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi and Korean actor So Ji-sub. The company has pledged to strengthen cooperation with foreign partners after its IPO.
Bona has also invested in building cinemas in several big cities including Beijing and Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi province. According to Yu Dong, CEO of Bona, the company will have as many as 30 cinemas in the country opened over the next 2 or 3 years.
Huayi Brothers Media, a major competitor of Bona, raised $176 million on China's Shenzhen Stock Exchange in October 2009.
Famous actors such as Huang Xiaoming and Li Bingbing soon became millionaires thanks to the large amounts of Huayi's shares they owned.
This time, movie insiders predict that popular actresses such as Huang Yi and Yuan Li will be on the list of shareholders for Bona Movie.
