Could Wang Jianlin, China's wealthiest man and founder of China's largest commercial real estate company Wanda Group, be interested in buying Time-Warner?

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch famously fell short recently of his goal to buy Time-Warner, third largest film and TV company in the world, for US$80 billion. That, coupled with Wanda Group's purchase last week of the trophy eight-acre Robinson-May property in Beverly Hills has set wags wagging about this being Jianlin's first step toward buying Time-Warner.

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Wanda officials said they bought the Beverly Hills property with eyes on developing a world-class film and TV production center to go along with its Qingdao, China 20-studio film-TV-entertainment center now under construction. The USD$8.2 billion, or 50 million yuan, studio will feature a 10,000-square-meter studio pavilion, the world's largest and a trendsetting underwater studio.

Plans are for the studio to host as many as 30 foreign and 100 domestic film productions annually beginning with its 2017 opening. Wanda plans to host a major international film festival there in 2017.

Furthermore, Wanda bought the giant AMC Theater Chain in 2012 for USD$2.6 billion. The real estate developer often anchors its worldwide shopping centers with movie theaters.

For the record, a Wanda spokesman told industry standard The Hollywood Reporter this week that "this is not happening" when it comes to Time-Warner. Yet, the key to the Time-Warner door seems to have fallen at the feet of the 59-year-old economic dynamo.

Wanda goes Hollywood

When Wang and Wanda bought the 9900 Wilshire Blvd. location in the heart of Beverly Hills 90210, he made no secret of his ambitions to enter the U.S market and film-TV industry in a big way. The US$147 million purchase of the prime property at the corner of famed Santa Monica Boulevard was touted as the first step into Hollywood. Wang also gave USD$20 million to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences -- the Oscar folk -- for a new Academy museum.

Wang also very publicly has said he wants Wanda Group to be a top international player like Walmart, Google and IBM. When CNN interviewers last month asked Wang about his plans, Wang joked they should ask their bosses at CNN if the news network were available because if it were for sale, "I can buy it."

Wang is believed to be worth around US$14 billion, according to Forbes, just like Murdoch. Wanda had US$30 billion in revenues last year and appears on track to reach US$100 billion annually in five years. Wang has made comments, perhaps humorously, perhaps not, about buying a couple of top international entertainment companies soon.

Could it be?

Chinese sources told The Hollywood Reporter that it wasn't impossible Time-Warner was on Wang's mind. Others said Wang could buy Time-Warner holdings spun off from the company on a first-come, first-served a' la carte basis.

Back home in Wang's hometown of Dailian, China, some of his closest associates, including former mayor Bo Xilai have been purged from the Communist Party and imprisoned. Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, was herself imprisoned in connection with the sensational case of murdered British businessman Neil Heywood.

While Wang hasn't been swept up in his associates' scandals, speculation continues that he may want to diversify and hedge his financial bets. That, and the ambition to be a big-time international entertainment industry player may lead Wang and Wanda to Time-Warner sooner rather than later, industry experts say.

Tagstime warner, wanda group, rupert murdoch