Advance Publications Inc. completed the acquisition of The IRONMAN Group from Wanda Sports Group Co. Ltd. for an enterprise value of $730 million.

Wanda Sports expects the net proceeds from the sale to be in the range of $380 million, which reflects deductions for existing debt and transaction expenses.

The Chinese sports marketing and event promoter used a portion of the net proceeds to repay the principal amount of $240 million, as well as related interest and fees outstanding, under its existing 364-day facility. The company intends to use a portion of the net proceeds to repay $50 million outstanding under a promissory note issued to Wanda Sports & Media (Hong Kong) Holding Co. Ltd.

Wanda Sports will use the balance of the net proceeds to return capital to its shareholders, either through a special dividend or a share repurchase program, subject to business conditions and shareholder approval.

Following completion of the transaction, Wanda Sports will continue to operate its three business segments. It will also continue to operate the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon series, Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series and Epic Series off-road mountain bike series races of The IRONMAN Group in China under an exclusive event license agreement.

In connection with the sale, IRONMAN Group President and CEO Andrew Messick resigned as a director of Wanda Sports. Meanwhile, Maojun Zeng has been appointed chairman of the board of directors. Zeng succeeds Lin Zhang, who stepped down as board chairman and will assume a new role in the broader Wanda Group.

Zeng has been president of the Wanda Film Group, part of the Wanda Cultural Industry Group, since July 2017.