Real estate company DLF will sell 7 screens under its cinema exhibition business ‘DT Cinemas’ to Cinepolis India for Rs 64 crore, it said on Friday.
“DLF Utilities Ltd, a subsidiary has completed a transaction with Cinepolis India for sale and transfer of remaining seven screens pertaining to DT Cinemas as a going concern on a slump sale basis for a consideration of Rs 63.67 crore upon receipt of CCI approval,” DLF informed BSE.
Six of these screens are in Saket and one in Greater Kailash area in New Delhi. These were screens which were excluded from the total screens in the DLF-PVR deal in order to check anti-competitive concerns.
With the closure of this transaction, the company will completely exit from the cinema exhibition business. This is in line with the company’s strategy to focus on core business and divest non-core businesses or assets.
In June 2015, DLF had announced that its subsidiary, DLF Utilities Ltd, has entered into definitive agreements to sell its cinema exhibition business operated under the brand name of ‘DT Cinemas’, to PVR Ltd, on a slump-sale basis for an aggregate consideration of ₹500 crore.
On May 6, 2016, the Competition Commission of India approved the acquisition of DT Cinemas by PVR, subject to exclusion of certain assets in order to check anti-competitive concerns.
“The CCI approves PVR’s acquisition of DT Cinema’s multiplexes/single screen theatres in Delhi NCR and Chandigarh, subject to modification,” the watchdog had said then.
The proposed combination related to the acquisition by PVR of DLF’s film exhibition business ‘DT Cinemas’, comprising 39 screens (29 existing and 10 upcoming) as a going concern on a slump-sale basis.
DLF had then informed the BSE that “the CCI has approved the proposed combination in relation to acquisition of DT Cinemas, with certain modifications, which inter alia include exclusion of DT Savitri (one screen) and DT Saket (six screens) from the proposed combination”.
This changed the total deal size (with PVR) to Rs 433 crore instead of Rs 500 crore earlier.