As Finnish legal counsel we have advised NYSE-listed AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc., on its acquisition of Scandinavian and Baltic cinema operator Nordic Cinema Group (NCG), for approximately USD 900 million from Bridgepoint Capital and Swedish media group Bonnier Holdings.
NCG operates 68 theatres and has a substantial minority interest in another 50 associated theatres to which NCG provides a variety of shared services. NCG’s theatres are number one in market share in Sweden (SF Bio), Finland (Finnkino), Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (Forum Cinemas) and number two in Norway (SF Kino). The combination of AMC and NCG will further strengthen AMC’s current position as the largest cinema operator in the United States, Europe and the world.
The project was led by Swedish law firm Lindahl and international law firm Pinsent Masons. Advokatfirmaet Schjødt (Norway) and Sorainen (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) acted as the other local counsel.
‘For the third time in the past twelve months, we believe we have discovered a substantial acquisition that gives AMC yet another opportunity to further expand and diversify our geographic reach and more firmly establish AMC as the undisputed leader in movie exhibition worldwide,’ says AMC CEO and President Adam Aron.
