Vue International announced the largest acquisition in their history today, with a buyout of German cinema group CineStar valuing the latter company at €221.8M (or about $254.2M) total.
This comes as Vue this year had been improving on their overall European numbers, even as Germany represented something of a downturn for the company.
According to their Q2 financial statement, total tickets bought at Vue locations throughout Europe stood at 44.0M through the end of the quarter, up +0.8% year-to-date.
Germany specifically, however, is a different story. Through Q2, Vue’s year-to-date admissions in Germany stood at 53.7M, down -11.8%.
Already one of the largest exhibitors in Europe, Vue will take over one of the biggest chains in the country with a €130M (or about $149.0M) upfront cost.
Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Vue currently operates in “10 countries, 228 sites and 1,989 screens,” according to their website.
This CineStar deal will add an additional 57 sites and 449 screens, expanding their European footprint by about +25% in one move.
CineStar is currently owned by the Australian group Event Hospitality & Entertainment Limited.
This will further expand Vue’s presence in Germany, since they have already owned the CinemaxX chain since 2012, located in Germany as well as Denmark.
“Germany is an extremely important cinema market and is consistently in the top ten box office markets in the world,” Tim Richards, Founder and CEO of Vue International said in a press release.
“The acquisition of CineStar supports our strategic and business objectives of developing and owning the highest quality cinema assets globally. We look forward to further investing in the estate and welcoming CineStar into the Vue Group.”
The deal won’t be finalized until approved by the applicable regulators.
Founded in 2003, Vue has made two other acquisitions in 2018 alone, with previous purchases of Poland’s Cinema3D and Ireland’s Showtime Cinemas in July.
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