Wanda pumps $900m into Chicago project

Last month, it was the purchase of a historic landmark building in Madrid; now it is waterfront property in Chicago. As part of a recent property-buying spree, Beijing-based Dalian Wanda Group Corp said it is acquiring a 90 percent stake in a project for high-end residential, commercial and hotel units in what its chairman says is the first of several planned moves in the United States.

"Investing in Chicago property is Wanda's first move into the US real estate market," Wang Jianlin, the billionaire chairman of Wanda, said in a statement about the investment that was announced on Wednesday. He said that within a year, his company will invest in other five-star hotel projects in major US cities such as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Wanda Group said it is putting $900 million into the Chicago property. The Magellan Group, a Los Angeles-based property firm, will hold the remaining 10 percent. The firm declined to comment on the deal.