U.K.'s Odeon, ABC to merge

Rank sells theater chain to Cinven for $448 mil

By ADAM DAWTREY

LONDON -- The Rank Group has completed the sale of Odeon Cinemas, the U.K.'s biggest chain, to venture capital firm Cinven for £280 million ($448 million).

Cinven, which already owns ABC Cinemas, will now merge the two chains under Odeon's management team, headed by chief exec Richard Segal.

Barry Jenkins, who heads the lesser ABC circuit, will become deputy chairman of the combined enterprise.

Odeon has 460 screens in 75 sites, while ABC has 183 screens in 60 theaters. The ABC circuit is almost entirely made up of old town-center cinemas with three or fewer screens. Odeon has been building multiplexes to supplement its traditional theaters.

Odeon's sales totalled $205 million in 1999, with operating profit of $30.4 million.

Rank, once one of the great names in the British film industry, has been progressively unloading its movie interests in the past few years, in order to focus on its core leisure business.

Reports surfaced last week that Rank is also in talks to sell Pinewood Studios to a consortium headed by former Channel 4 chief exec Michael Grade.