Cinemark completes Rave movie theater chain purchase

$240M deal includes 3 local movie theaters

5/31/2013

Officials at Cinemark Holdings Inc. said Friday that they have completed their acquisition of Rave Cinemas, the dominant theater chain in the Toledo area.

But when or if movie patrons will notice any changes, such as admission or concession prices, remains uncertain.

James Meredith, a spokesman for Cinemark, said it is unlikely customers will see immediate changes at the three Toledo-area movie complexes previously owned by Rave, of Dallas. In acquiring the Rave Cinemas chain, Cinemark now controls the Franklin Park 16 theater in Toledo, Levis Commons 12 in Perrysburg, and Fallen Timbers 14+Xtreme in Maumee.

“Our customers are not going to notice a number of changes in the summer. After the summer season we may re-evaluate, and any changes that we do make will focus on our customers,” Mr. Meredith said. “Our goal is that our customers enjoy the best movie-going experience possible.”

The Cinemark spokesman said the company hasn’t decided whether to remove Rave Cinema signs in favor of Cinemark signs, or to keep the Rave brand and operate the three theaters as a separate division of the Plano, Texas, theater chain.

“We just haven’t made those type of decisions yet,” Mr. Meredith said.

The tentative acquisition of Rave by Cinemark was announced Nov. 16. The $240 million cash deal with assumption of certain liabilities consisted of 32 theater complexes totaling 483 screens in 12 states.

But the deal was delayed until the Department of Justice reviewed potential anti-trust issues. The Justice department cleared the deal on Wednesday.

The acquisition allowed Cinemark to expand into seven new metro areas and boost the chain to a total of 496 theaters in 40 states, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and 10 other Latin American countries.

“The Rave theaters are well positioned in their markets and include multiple patron amenities, including expanded food service offerings and premium large format screens,” Tim Warner, Cinemark’s chief executive officer, said in a statement after the Justice Department’s decision was announced.

“With this addition, we will extend our presence into new markets and increase our industry-leading XD premium large format brand to 129 screens worldwide. We are happy to welcome the Rave theater team to our Cinemark family.”

Cinemark and Rave previously announced in November that any Rave gift cards are to be honored by Cinemark well past the gift cards’ sale date.