Published: January 6, 2014
Private-equity firm pays ZAR75mn for South Africa’s second-largest cinema chain.
One Fifty Capital, a private-equity firm, has agreed to buy Nu Metro Cinemas, South Africa’s second-largest cinema chain, for ZAR75mn (US$7mn) spread over the next two years.
The buyer will also acquire Popcorn Cinema Advertising Sales, an associate company of Nu Metro that sells on-screen advertising space.
The businesses are being sold by South Africa’s Times Media Group, which is offloading non-core businesses as part of a turnaround plan.
The group has already sold several other cinema businesses from its entertainment division, including a 51% shareholding in Monte Cinemas and a 50% shareholding in Three Groups Cinemas. The group’s entertainment division made an operating loss of ZAR34mn last year.
Nu Metro is the largest cinema chain in Southern Africa behind Ster-Kinekor and accounts for one-third of South Africa’s cinema market.