Odeon and UCI chains could be sold
Flagship Odeon Leicester Square cinema is part of private equity firm Terra Firma’s portfolio Financier Guy Hands, the boss of private equity outfit Terra Firma, is considering selling the market-leading Odeon & UCI cinema chain as he begins rebuilding a City reputation that was dented by the EMI debacle. Hands has seen his image as a master dealmaker tarnished by his firm’s disastrous acquisition of music group EMI, which was seized by Citigroup in February , leaving Hands’s company with a loss of £1.75bn. However, Hands is already giving serious consideration to his next step and is mulling the sale of Europe’s largest cinema group and one of the UK’s big three chains, after rivals expressed interest in the business. According to initial reports in the Financial Times , Bank of America Merrill Lynch is expected to run the auction if one goes ahead, but it is understood that Hands has made no definitive decision yet. Another option on the table includes refinancing the business with new debt of about £600m and holding on to the company. BC Partners, a UK buyout firm, is a leading potential buyer of the chain, which owns around 200 cinemas with a total of 1,850 screens. The majority of its portfolio is in the UK, including the flagship Odeon Leicester Square cinema which often hosts gala premieres. However, the sheer scale of the business means that a bid from rival Vue Entertainment would likely face competition hurdles. Odeon & UCI generated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £80m in 2009. Despite the travails of the movie business in the home entertainment market, cinemas are still viewed as an attractive investment because 3D films are giving a new boost to the market, although UK attendance slipped 2.4% last year. Odeon & UCI leads the UK by market share, with 23%, followed by Cineworld on 21% and Vue with 17%. Analysts said the neck-and-neck positioning of the businesses would make any sector consolidation a likely target of regulators. Film industry Guy Hands Private equity Dan Milmo guardian.co.uk
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Odeon and UCI chains could be sold
Flagship Odeon Leicester Square cinema is part of private equity firm Terra Firma’s portfolio Financier Guy Hands, the boss of private equity outfit Terra Firma, is considering selling the market-leading Odeon & UCI cinema chain as he begins rebuilding a City reputation that was dented by the EMI debacle. Hands has seen his image as a master dealmaker tarnished by his firm’s disastrous acquisition of music group EMI, which was seized by Citigroup in February , leaving Hands’s company with a loss of £1.75bn. However, Hands is already giving serious consideration to his next step and is mulling the sale of Europe’s largest cinema group and one of the UK’s big three chains, after rivals expressed interest in the business. According to initial reports in the Financial Times , Bank of America Merrill Lynch is expected to run the auction if one goes ahead, but it is understood that Hands has made no definitive decision yet. Another option on the table includes refinancing the business with new debt of about £600m and holding on to the company. BC Partners, a UK buyout firm, is a leading potential buyer of the chain, which owns around 200 cinemas with a total of 1,850 screens. The majority of its portfolio is in the UK, including the flagship Odeon Leicester Square cinema which often hosts gala premieres. However, the sheer scale of the business means that a bid from rival Vue Entertainment would likely face competition hurdles. Odeon & UCI generated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £80m in 2009. Despite the travails of the movie business in the home entertainment market, cinemas are still viewed as an attractive investment because 3D films are giving a new boost to the market, although UK attendance slipped 2.4% last year. Odeon & UCI leads the UK by market share, with 23%, followed by Cineworld on 21% and Vue with 17%. Analysts said the neck-and-neck positioning of the businesses would make any sector consolidation a likely target of regulators. Film industry Guy Hands Private equity Dan Milmo guardian.co.uk
Posted by
on April 1, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.