Mexican multiplex chain Cinepolis is scouting for acquisitions in India as it looks to expand presence in the country with a target of having over 400 screens by the end of 2017.

The company that is eyeing presence in top 40 cities in India has already stated that it expects the country to account for 10 per cent of its global revenue in the next three years.

“We are looking at opportunities in inorganic growth. We have been looking at different opportunities over time,” Cinepolis India Managing Director Javier Sotomayor told PTI.

When asked what kind of target the company is scouting for, he said: “We would like to transact and to acquire companies at a value we would consider to be fair. Again, for us it is very important that the assets we acquire has to make sense with our over all strategy.”

The quality of the locations is very important and Cinepolis is very selective on where to have its presence, he added.

Cinepolis has over 80 screens in India. It has set a target of Rs 1,200 crore in turnover by 2017.

“Last year, we added 35 screens, we would grow by 50 screens this year, only through organic growth and at same time, we are looking for acquisitions,” he added.

Recently, rival Inox had acquired Satyam Cineplex in a Rs 182 crore deal. Last year, PVR had completed acquisition of Cinemax India for Rs 395 crore.

Cinepolis is also expecting that earnings from food and beverages would increase in coming years although it is very low here compared to countries such as Mexico where it is almost 90 per cent, he said.

“Yes, I believe that ratio would increase... We have no control whatsoever on the quality of the movie, I would love every movie to be a blockbuster, but I have zero control on that. What we have control over in is, once people are in our premises, to be able to provide great experience and to be able to sell products to them,” Sotomayor added.

He further said: “It’s a habit, people get used to it.

People are used to buying products before the movie starts. It is also a matter of process that you have to get the products available within time for the customer.”

Moreover, Cinepolis is also looking to leverage on online booking through apps and mobile devices in a bigger way.

“Right now it is 10 per cent of our total booking. We are expecting it to increase to around 40 per cent by 2017,” he added.

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