Donald Tang

File:Donald tang.png

Donald Tang

Donald Tang

Donald Tang is an American businessman and investment banker. He is founding partner of Tang Media Partners. Prior to his current position, he served as Vice Chairman, Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., and Chairman of Bear Stearns Asia.

Early life

Donald Tang was born in Shanghai, China where his parents were college professors. A story titled He Came For Love, in the Los Angeles Times, describes how Tang at age 18 followed his girlfriend Jean to Los Angeles in 1982 after she and her family immigrated to America. Jean is now his wife. Working a series of restaurant jobs to finance his education, Tang graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, in 1986 with a chemical engineering degree.

Finance career

His career in finance began at Merrill Lynch & Co. in 1987 on the institutional equity sales team, later moving to Lehman Brothers and concentrating on fixed income institutional sales. He joined Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. in 1992 in Los Angeles as Senior Managing Director of Investment Banking. In 1993, he was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Bear Stearns Asia and moved to its Hong Kong office, subsequently being named Chairman of Bear Stearns Asia. From 1993 to 1999, he built up its Asian operations, opening offices in China and Singapore. Tang’s Asian expansion focused on five product areas including Equities, Fixed Income, Investment Banking, Wealth Management, and Derivatives. While serving in Hong Kong, Tang was elected to the Board of Directors of Bear Stearns & Co. in 1997.

In March 1999 Tang moved to Chicago and managed the Bear Stearns Midwest Region. In 2001 his accomplishments in the Midwest were recognized by the Bear Stearns Board of Directors, which elected Tang as a Vice Chairman of the company. He was then transferred to Los Angeles, with a dual mandate to both manage its West Coast operations, and, as Chairman and CEO of Bear Stearns Asia, to supervise all activity in Asia. In 2003 Tang was appointed Chairman and President of Bear Stearns International Holdings.

Mr. Tang was instrumental in advising an arm of the CITIC Group during its unprecedented $1.15 billion acquisition of Nations Energy in Kazakhstan. He led the Bear Stearns team representing Hunan Valin Group, a Chinese steel company, when it sold a 37 percent stake to Mittal Steel (now ArcelorMittal) in what was then the largest acquisition by an international strategic investor of a Chinese-listed firm. Following that deal, Lakshmi Mittal was quoted in the Financial Times saying, "Anyone seeking to do a major deal in China will learn about Donald Tang."

Jimmy Cayne, the legendary CEO of Bear Stearns, kept an Ek Chor brand motorcycle in his office to commemorate Donald Tang’s work in arranging the groundbreaking New York Stock Exchange listing of the Ek Chor China Motorcycle Co., a joint venture between Thai and Chinese interests.

Under Tang’s leadership, Bear Stearns Asia was financial advisor to telecom giant China Mobile and jointly led its secondary offering. Bear Stearns served as financial advisor and co-lead manager for the IPO of China Telecom. Bear Stearns Asia under Donald Tang also served as financial advisor for Guangshen Railway Co Ltd., Beijing Yanhua Petrochemical Ltd,. and Yanzhou Coal Mining Co Ltd. arranging pioneering financial transactions in their respective industries.

Entertainment/Media

Prior to the formation of Tang Media Partners, Mr. Tang was instrumental in facilitating the deal that resulted in Dalian Wanda, a leading Chinese conglomerate, acquiring AMC Entertainment Holdings for $2.6B in 2012. [1]

Donald Tang personally played a key role in putting together a 2015 film slate financing package for STX Entertainment, a Hollywood motion picture and television studio. Under terms of the agreement, China’s largest privately held film firm, Huayi Brothers Media Corp., joins in a three-year pact to finance 12-15 STX film projects per year. Mr. Tang receives Executive Producer credit on all films released under that agreement. [2]

Deadline Hollywood reported, “Key to the deal was Tang Media Partners’ Donald Tang, who is the former chairman of Bear Stearns Asia who has strong relationships both inside the U.S. and with most major players in China.” [3]

Interviewed by Deadline Hollywood, Donald Tang noted, “This transaction is part of a deeper strategy. It’s a strategic financing arrangement that will bring STX into a collaboration with major players in China.” [4]

As the founder and managing partner of Tang Media Partners, Mr. Tang brings his intimate knowledge of Chinese business and culture to the intersection of Hollywood and China, which is the center of today’s entertainment universe. His company’s mission encompasses the development, financing, production and distribution of unique content for film, television, music, sports, education, fashion, games, and digital initiatives. Donald Tang’s intimate familiarity with the realities of Hollywood, combined with deep insight into the Chinese market and culture, enables Tang Media Partners to leverage exceptional opportunities across this new global content ecosystem.

In 2016 Tang Media Partners launched the “Tang Film Fund”, providing slate financing for STX Entertainment feature films produced over the next three years. Tang Media Partners receives an “In Association With STX Entertainment” onscreen credit for all films released under this agreement.

Donald Tang assembled and moderated a panel of senior Chinese and US entertainment industry executives in Los Angeles on April 18, 2016. Mr. Tang challenged the panelists to explain why this time foreign investors in Hollywood would find success when so many others had failed in the past. The participants in this unprecedented even, who had never appeared together as a group before, included Ari Emanuel of WME IMG, Jack Gao of Wanda Cultural Industry Group, Jim Gianopulos of 20th Century Fox, Li Ruigang of China Media Capital, Dominc Ng of East West Bank and Robert Simonds of STX Entertainment. The event took place in Los Angeles on April 16, 2016, as part of the annual conference of the Committee of 100.

Directorships/Civic Organizations / Media

Current and past board memberships include:

• Director of Tribune Publishing Company (NYSE: TPUB)
• Trustee of the RAND Corporation and Member of the Rand Advisory Board for the Center for Asia Pacific Policy, and Chairman of the Rand Banking Reform Committee on China;
• Trustee of California Institute of Technology;
• Advisory Committee for Harvard University Asia Center;
• Trustee Emeritus of Asia Society Southern California:
• Board of Trustees Member Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles;
• Member of the Committee of 100:
• Member of Board of Councilors of the USC Annenberg School for Communication;
• Member of Board of UCLA Medical Center;
• Member of the Board of Councilors of the China US Center for Sustainable Development and Chair the China-US People to People Partnership Initiative;
• Member of the Chicago Mayor’s Council of Technology Advisors:

Honors awarded Donald Tang include:

• 2007 Los Angeles Urban League Community Coalition Award;
• 2007 Sponsors for Educational Opportunity Corporate Leadership Award;
• 2004 Chairman’s Award of the Asia Society;
• 2004 Alexis de Tocqueville Society Award presented to Donald and his wife, Jean, for their commitment to human service;
• 2002-2003 “Spirit of Los Angeles” Award from United Way;
• 2000-2001 “40 under 40” designation from Crain's Chicago Business Magazine.

Mr. Tang hosted the C100 panel on 'Hollywood and China' in Beverly Hills on April 16, 2016. He was a featured speaker at the Variety Magazine-sponsored 2015 US-China Film and TV Expo in Los Angeles. Mr. Tang served as keynote speaker at the 2010 University of Pennsylvania Wharton School Asia Conference, He has been profiled in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Los Angeles Times. On television, he is a contributor to CNBC’s Closing Bell, discussing all things China-related.