US: Cineworld in talks to buy Regal for more than US$3.1b

Britain’s Cineworld Group is in talks to purchase Regal Entertainment Group, the movie-theater chain controlled by billionaire Philip Anschutz, for more than US$3 billion to double its size and create a bigger international rival to industry leader AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.

The companies are negotiating a price for Regal of US$23 a share, they said in separate statements, confirming earlier reports by Reuters and Bloomberg. The talks could still fall apart, the companies said. Cineworld’s stock declined as much as 16%, the most in a decade, after saying it would fund the acquisition with a stock sale and debt. The shares were down 15% as of 10:14 a.m. in London.

The deal would let Cineworld expand beyond its home market, as Britain’s plan to leave the European Union weighs on consumer spending, and add thousands of screens as the industry faces intensifying competition from online-video providers. A deal to reshape Regal, the second-biggest cinema chain in the US, revives an unsuccessful attempt to sell the company in 2014.

Full Content: Wall Street Journal

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