Acquisition

Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group announced that it has received regulatory approvals for its planned acquisition of AMC Entertainment, the second largest theater chain in the U.S. Wanda and AMC said Wednesday that they received notice from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. that the inter-agency committee has cleared the transaction. The owner ofChina'slargest movie theater circuit announced in May that it had reached an agreement to buy AMC's 5,034 screens in 346 theaters in the U.S. and Canada for $2.6 billion, creating the world's largest cinema operator.

Grant Hill, soon to be wearing a Clippers uniform, is an acquisition that will further change the culture of an up-and-coming team that was once thought to be cursed. The Clippers players are excited to be teammates with the seven-time All-Star but, for forward Trey Thompkins, there's one small complication. Hill will take over Thompkin's number next season. Thompkins tweeted at Hill on Friday, hoping to get a little sumptin sumptin in return: "@realgranthill33 It's an honor to give my number to a vet like you!

If there was any doubt that the Clippers remain serious about changing the culture of their franchise, perhaps they put it to rest Thursday. Free-agent guard Jamal Crawford agreed to a contract with the Clippers and the team reached a deal to re-sign veteran Chauncey Billups, according to NBA executives who were not authorized to speak publicly on the situation. The deals will fill holes in the Clippers' backcourt. The Clippers used their full mid-level exception to offer the 6-foot-5 Crawford a four-year deal worth $21.7 million.

LAS VEGAS -- Kobe Bryant understands the benefit of Steve Nash joining the Lakers. How could he not? The recent acquisition of the two-time MVP from the Phoenix Suns will undeniably open up the Lakers' offense and Bryant believes it will improve their championship hopes. "He gives us a much, much better chance," Bryant said Friday after Team USA's first practice in a week-long training camp before the Olympics. "He gives us a great chance. " Bryant hadn't spoken to reporters since the Lakers were eliminated by Oklahoma City in five games of the Western Conference semifinals.

Despite all the limited assets he conceded the Lakers had, General Manager Mitch Kupchak still let out hope last week that the Lakers could hit a "home run. " The organization is accustomed to success after winning 16 NBA titles. The Lakers refused to concede that their championship window had closed with their core roster. And even if the Lakers admitted there's more emphasis to keep costs down to avoid the more punitive tax penalties stemming from the new labor deal, they still insisted that wouldn't be distracted from their goal of upgrading the roster.

Sony Corp., which for the last 18 years has centered its game business on its PlayStation consoles, is making a major shift in its strategy by acquiring Gaikai Inc. for $380 million. Based in Aliso Viejo, Gaikai is one of the leading companies in the new business of cloud-based video games, through which people can play on almost any Internet-connected device. Just as with Netflix's Instant video streaming service, games on Gaikai are stored on a remote server and streamed to a computer, tablet, smartphone or TV set without the need to download or install special programs.

Computer giant Dell Inc., facing falling demand for personal computers, made one of its biggest moves yet to bolster its software business. Outbidding rivals, Dell said Monday that it agreed to acquire Orange County software developer Quest Software Inc. for $2.4 billion. The acquisition will boost its software offerings to businesses and governments, Dell said. The deal ends a months-long bidding war that saw offers for Aliso Viejo-based Quest rise from an initial bid of $2 billion from a private investment firm.

Sony Corp.'s deal to acquire EMI's publishing assets has cleared U.S. and European regulatory hurdles and was closed Friday, the companies said. EMI's catalog will be merged with Sony's to create a library of more than 2 million songs, making the combined entity the world's largest music publisher. The deal, announced last November, called for an investor group led by Sony to pay $2.2 billion for EMI's rights to 1.3 million songs, including those written by David Bowie, Stevie Wonder and others.

Facebook has acquired Face.com, an Israeli start-up that specializes in facial-recognition software. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. But the acquisition had been speculated in recent weeks, and some reports said Facebook could have spent anywhere from $80 million to $100 million for the start-up. Among Face.com's products are Face Tagger, a Facebook app, and KLIK, an iOS app. The start-up also has a public API that it hosts on its site. News of the acquisition was reported by Bloomberg and was confirmed by Facebook.

Looking to expand its presence in the teen and young adult market, Warner Bros. Television Group has struck a deal to purchase Alloy Entertainment, a content company that specializes in youth-oriented books aimed particularly at females. Although terms of the acquisition from ZelnickMedia Corp. were not disclosed, people with knowledge of the transaction who declined to speak publicly said the purchase price exceeded $100 million. Alloy and Warner Bros. have collaborated on a number of TV shows and movies over the last several years.