Chinese animation company Great Wall International ACG (GWACG), which is listed on China’s main board, on Monday announced its prolonged trading suspension, saying it needs more time to complete the acquisition or partial acquisition of Xi’an Lingjing, a multimedia company.
GWACG, originally named Sichuan Shengda Industrial, used to specialize in coking and chemical processing. It then acquired seven anime and game companies, and changed its name to GWACG in 2014, becoming the diverse company it is today. The company requested a trading suspension from February 29th to March 29th to complete the acquisition and reorganization. The date has now been postponed to May 30th, at which time details will be published.
Xi’an Lingjing is a company dedicated to applying multimedia technology to fields such as exposition, broadcasting, advertising and services. Major customers include museums, theme parks, and scenic spots. Now with over 50 products like interactive projections, digital sand tables, virtual studio systems and virtual reality, Xi’an Lingjing has covered more than 300 exhibitions and 1000 tourist attractions.
“Virtual reality is our focus now,” a spokesperson at Xi’an Lingjing told AllChinaTech. By acquiring Xi’an Lingjing and combining IP with VR, GWACG is expected to revitalize its existing businesses, which range from theme parks to game and anime development. Since coking is not very profitable anymore, the old business will likely be ditched from the company, Tencent Finance analyzed.
The idea of linking IP to VR is not new. Leading Chinese animation producer Alpha Animation made arrangements for increasing VR and IP content earlier this year. Among its partners are Chinese leading VR device maker DeePoon, VR game developer TVR, and the IP-oriented Linglong Culture.
(Top photo from Ctsbw.com)