KOCHI: Carnival Cinemas, promoted by Kochi-based Shrikant Bhasi, on Monday announced the acquisition of Anil Ambani’s Big Cinemas for `700 crore, easily the largest deal yet in the country’s multiplex business.
The buyout will add 258 screens to Carnival, catapulting the Kerala firm, which has about 75 screens, to the third largest multiplex operator in the country, after PVR and Inox Leisure.
“We are targeting to achieve 1,000 screens by 2017, and are looking forward to the continued support of Reliance Group in our future growth,” Bhasi said in a statement jointly issued with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Capital. As per the deal, Reliance Capital will have the option to acquire a pre-IPO (initial public offering) stake in Carnival Cinemas at an appropriate discount, upon the eventual listing of the Kerala company.
“We are very serious about exhibition business, and are moving in an organic way. Carnival Cinemas will not only make its presence in tier-I cities, but will also lay emphasis on having strong presence across the tier-II and tier-III cities. We want to make the cinemas synonymous with Carnival,” said Bhasi. The deal excludes real estate owned by Reliance MediaWorks at Imax-Wadala and other properties worth `200 crore, the statement said. PVR is the leader in the sector, with slightly less than 500 screens, while Inox comes second with 358 screens.
Earlier, Inox had acquired Delhi-based Satyam Cineplex for nearly `240 crore, a deal that saw the company expanding its presence to 50 cities, with 91 multiplexes and 358 screens.Carnival had earlier bought HDIL’s Broadway Cinemas for `110 crore. In 2012, PVR bought Cinemax in a deal pegged at `395 crore. “The transaction will reduce Reliance Capital’s leverage by around `700 crore, through a combination of transfer of debt of Reliance MediaWorks and infusion of the cash proceeds,” the statement said.
Reliance Capital CEO Sam Ghosh said, “we are delighted to begin a long-term relationship with the rapidly growing Carnival Group through the sale of the multiplex business of Reliance MediaWorks to them. We look forward to supporting Carnival in their future growth initiatives in India and overseas”.
