AMC to acquire four theaters to expand in South and Southeast 

AMC to acquire four theaters to expand in South and Southeast

Nov 28, 2012 (Menafn - The Kansas City Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --AMC Entertainment Inc. said it has an agreement to acquire four movie theaters with 61 digital screens, marking the company's first expansion since it was bought recently by China's Dalian Wanda Group.

The theaters are in new markets for AMC -- one complex in Montgomery, Ala., one in Destin, Fla, and two in Baton Rouge, La.

The theaters were sold by Rave Reviews Cinemas LLC, which is part of the private equity firm BV Investment Partners. The purchase price was not disclosed.

The acquisition is subject to certain closing conditions, but AMC expects to complete the deal by the end of December, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. AMC also expects to retain management and staff at the four theaters.

AMC said 46 percent of the screens in the four complexes were 3-D capable. Each theater is ranked tops in its market, and the average age of the complexes is 9 years old with recent upgrades, AMC said.

"This is a natural progression of business that we anticipated following our own acquisition by the Wanda Group," Gerry Lopez, AMC's chief executive officer, said in a statement.

AMC was acquired by Wanda Group for 2.6 billion in September. The transaction made Wanda the world's largest cinema owner.

AMC operates 332 theaters and 4,804 screens in the United States. Before buying AMC, Wanda said, it owned 94 theaters and 805 screens.

To reach Steve Rosen, call 816-234-4879 or send email to srosen@kcstar.com.

___ (c)2012 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) Visit The Kansas City Star
(Kansas City, Mo.) at www.kansascity.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

Copyright (C) 2012, The Kansas City Star