UK/Canada: Cineworld Group and Cineplex Inc. Sign Definitive Acquisition Agreement

Big cinema deal: British Cineworld Group, operator of currently 786 movie theaters in Great Britain, the US, Eastern Europe and Israel, will take over Canada’s Cineplex Inc. movie and entertainment company, with a network of 165 cinemas across Canada. Also, Cineplex operates its own FEC chain Playdium as well as the entertainment restaurants of the The Rec Room brand and the WorldGaming Network eSports platform, amongst other businesses.

This week, both companies agreed on the planned acquisition of Cineplex by Cineworld at a total transaction volume of approx. 2.5 billion Euro (2.8 billion US Dollar), including the assumption of net debt. Cineworld Group will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Cineplex for a converted value of 30.5 Euro (34 US Dollar) per share in cash, representing a premium of 42 percent to the closing price on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Dec 13th, 2019.

The implementation of the transaction is subject to shareholder approval at a special meeting of Cineplex shareholders and to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals. It is expected to close during the first half of 2020. (eap)