Pathé Acquires Gaumont’s Stake in Les Cinemas Gaumont Pathé

The Gaumont-Pathé exhibition partnership has come to an end. In a press release distributed to French media outlets today, Pathé announced it will be purchasing Gaumont’s 34 percent in the venture, Les Cinemas Gaumont Pathé, for € 380 million. Terms for the deal have already been approved by the Pathé board of directors. The acquisition is pending the approval of the Gaumont Works Council.

Forged in 2001 with the merging of two historic brands of French exhibition, Les Cinemas Gaumont Pathé today operate 108 cinemas and 1,076 screens in France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Belgium. The circuit welcomed nearly 67 million guests in 2016.

Sidonie Dumas, Managing Director of Gaumont, said in a press release, “We welcome the fruitful cooperation with Pathé over the last 16 years which has allowed Les Cinémas Gaumont Pathé to become one of the European leaders in exhibition. The completion of this sale will enable our group to accelerate the promising development of its TV series production activities in the United States and Europe, to strengthen film production, and to consider expanding Gaumont in Europe.”

Jérôme Seydoux, President of Pathé stated, “This acquisition clearly affirms Pathé’s desire to develop and modernize the movie theater. The movie theater is essential to an audience’s enjoyment of a film, just are films are indispensable for movie theaters.”

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