U.K. private equity company Terra Firma Capital Partners will purchase AMC Entertainment cinema theaters in Spain and Portugal from JP Morgan.
The deal was confirmed Friday to Daily Variety by a Terra Firma spokesperson, who said that contracts had been exchanged.
Terra Firma's purchase still has to gain approval from Spain's antitrust authorities. But, given the fragmented nature of the Spanish exhibition market, antitrust clearance should not be a major concern. The spokesperson declined to give a price for the purchase.
The purchase agreement has been put through Spanish cinema loop Cinesa, which Terra Firma owns.
AMC controlled four megaplexes in Spain, with a total 86 screens, and a 20-plex theater in the Portuguese city of Oporto.
The move follows on Terra Firma's acquisition of Warner Bros.' and Lusomundo's interests in Warner Lusomundo Sogecable circuit last May.
In 2004, Terra Firma bought the Cinesa circuit from Vivendi Universal and Viacom as part of a larger deal that included UCI Cinemas' European ops. "We believe in the sector," said a spokesman from Terra Firma.
After the AMC purchase, Cinesa clearly leads the Spanish exhibition market, programming 466 screens in 40 theaters.
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