The stereotype of the immigrant Indian convenience store worker that has kept Apu employed at the Kwik-E-Mart for the past 17 years on ‘The Simpsons‘ may soon have to be changed to that of the immigrant Indian concession stand employee. Recently, the Indian cinema chain Pyramid Saimira Theatre announced it had purchased FunAsia, a Texas-based 17 screen circuit. On Monday, their competitor Adlabs Films announced that it would take over operations for “several existing cinema properties” in the United States accounting for 200 screens in 28 cities.
Adlabs is one of India’s largest entertainment corporations producing and distributing both film and television in addition to a thriving post production business. Adlabs Cinemas is the company’s exhibition subsidiary and operates 112 screens in 37 theatres.
There was little information about the deal other than a few blurbs found online and this post on IndianTelevision.com. Read More »
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Indian exhibition company Pyramid Saimira Theatre (PSTL) has become the first Indian cinema operator to enter the US market with the acquisition of FunAsia cinema, radio and banquet halls (!) operation in Texas. The exhibitor operates 11 screens in Houston and six in Dallas where it mainly shows Hindi (Bollywood) films, making it the largest Asian theatre chain in the US. The acquisition was covered in most of the India press, given the uniqueness of the international expansion – though Pyramid already operates cinemas outside India in Malaysia and Singapore – with the best being in the financial press, such as the Business Standard:
“The US and Canada are big markets for Hindi and south Indian movies, and we intend to increase the number of screens of FunAsia in the US to 60 by the end of this fiscal from the present 23 screens by expanding to about 15 locations,” P S Saminathan, managing director, PSTL, said.
PSTL has four subsidiaries for film production, distribution and international theatre business, and each one will have separate fund-raising programmes, he added. Read More »
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The latest from Publishing & Broadcasting’s imminent sale of Australian cinema chain Hoyts is that the field of candidates is now down to two suitors. Sydney buyout firm Private Equity Partners is down to the wire against India’s Pyramid Saimira Theatre, as the offer prise has gone up to a reported $450 million. The Indians seem the most keen on the deal, according to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald:
Pyramid, which is based in Chennai, is India’s largest digital cinema chain with more than 126 theatres, which it wants to increase to 1000 cinemas across the country over the next two or three years. It raised $US90 million ($104 million) in July by selling convertible bonds in order to expand internationally.
Managing director PS Saminathan was in the US yesterday and could not be reached for comment on a report in Mumbai’s Business Standard that said he expected to win the bidding contest for $450 million. He said in an interview two weeks ago that buying Hoyts “will add a huge amount of value to the group because we are already present in India, in Malaysia and in Singapore.”
West Australian Newspapers, which bought half of the stake in Hoyts from PBL in 2004 looks set to follow PBL’s lead and sell out when the sale goes through rather than to try to match the bid price. Bidders have to place their final offers ‘today’(it’s Friday in Australia already) and the sale is expected to go through in November.
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The sale of Hoyts, one of Australia’s Big Three exhibitors, is said to be imminent. Partly owned by James (Son of Kerry) Packer’s Publishing and Broadcasting and West Australian Newspapers, which bought Hoyts for $347m just two years ago. The asking price is said to be north of $400, but this article from Herald Sun puts its finger adroitly on the problem with this or any other cinema business:
“There is not a lot you can do with it with your other businesses,” said Deutsche Bank media analyst Andrew Anagnostellis.
“The problem with that business is that you are really dependent on the product that comes out of Hollywood. So if there are big blockbusters coming through you do well, if not you don’t do well and the reality is it is not under your control.
“You’ve got essentially a fixed cost business with big variations in output.”
The potential buyers are said to include Reading Entertainment, Prime Television, Pacific Equity Partners and Catalyst Investment Managers, as well as Indian cinema operator Pyramid Saimira Theatre (see below). The deadline for bids are set to be this Friday, so don’t delay if you fancy you own cinema chain Down Under.
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