China’s Huace invests in Magic Leap to expand its AR business

Chinese entertainment groups Zhejiang Huace has spent US$3.5 million in cash taking stake in PV ML LLC, set up for investing in American AR technology developer Magic Leap, acquiring 217,108 preferred shares to expand its business in AR area.Established in 2011, Magic Leap is one of the most well-known global AR technology developers, with shareholders including Google, Alibaba and Qualcomm.Zhejiang Huace has been actively expanding its footprint in TV and film businesses. The company has built business relationships with “Batman” producer Michael Uslan and a joint venture with Los Angeles- and Sydney-based film sales and financier Arclight.In November it struck a development and production deal with 20th Century Fox’s local language filmmaking unit Fox International Productions.In the TV space it has a deal with global formats giant Keshet International.In late 2014 Huace invested in Korean film distributor Next Entertainment World (N.E.W.), a relationship that it solidified a year later with a joint production venture.