Time Warner, China Media enter investment pact

Time Warner Inc has formed an investment partnership with Shanghai-based China Media Capital through which the US media giant hopes to expand its Chinese presence.

"This partnership with CMC and [firm chairman] Ruigang Li will give us a unique window into one of the world's largest and fastest-growing media and entertainment markets," Time Warner Chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said in a statement.

"Increasing our global presence is one of Time Warner's strategic priorities and China is one of the most attractive territories in which we operate, but it is complex. This alliance will give all our businesses a savvy and accomplished partner."

Time Warner, owner of one of the world's biggest video libraries, operates Warner Bros, the HBO cable network and Turner Broadcasting. The company said its partnership with CMC would aim to capitalize on China's rapidly growing media sector "as digital devices proliferate and China's demand for high-quality content across multiple platforms rises".

Li founded CMC in 2010 as a private-equity firm focused on investments in media and entertainment. It is part-owned by Shanghai Media Group, a regional broadcaster that Li, as CEO from 2002 to 2011, helped transform into one of China's leading media companies.

CMC has been involved in other investments and deals, including a joint venture in China - Oriental DreamWorks - with Hollywood studio DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc and the acquisition of satellite TV service Star China from News Corp.

"China's media and entertainment industry is undergoing a profound change on various fronts including technology, creativity and commercialization," Li said in CMC's joint announcement with Time Warner. "We are privileged to be at the forefront of these unprecedented opportunities as well as challenges."

Thursday's announcement was made in Chengdu, capital of southwestern China's Sichuan province, at the start of the 2013 Fortune Global Forum, a gathering of Chinese and multinational company executives. A day earlier, at a business seminar in Beijing attended by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Time Warner's Bewkes said his company planned to seize new opportunities to expand in China.