The country’s largest movie exhibitor, PVR Cinemas Ltd, on Sunday announced its decision to acquire multiplex chain SPI Cinemas Private Ltd, BloombergQuint reported, quoting a press release. PVR said the deal with the South India-based company would be worth Rs 633 crore.
Kiran M Reddy and Swaroop Reddy, the founders of the Chennai-based brand that was originally known as Sathyam Cinemas, will remain linked to the business, The News Minute reported. The Reddys will share “strategic guidance in integrating the business with PVR”, the press release added.
PVR will buy 71.7% equity or 222,711 equity shares in the firm, which has branches in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Mumbai. SPI Cinemas has 76 screens, of which 68 are operational and eight are scheduled to start operations soon, across 10 cities. Once completed, the acquisition will increase PVR’s total screen count to 706 across 60 cities.
The acquisition will help PVR expand its dominance in South India. “The acquisition will make PVR the undisputed leader in the South Indian market and provide an attractive platform for us to expand in that geography,” said Ajay Bijli, the company’s chairperson and managing director.
The merger process is scheduled to be completed in the next 12 months.
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