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EXHIBITORS Europe

AMC Theatres purchases Sweden’s Nordic Cinema Group

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- Already controlling 244 theatres in Europe through the UK’s Odeon Cinemas Group, the Kansas City-based company has added 118 cinemas to its assets

AMC Theatres purchases Sweden’s Nordic Cinema Group

AMC Theatres – the world’s largest cinema company – has acquired a 30% controlling stake in Sweden’s Nordic Cinema Group from Bonnier Holding and Bridgepoint, for €169 million, it was announced on 23 January.

Nordic Cinema Group is the Nordic and Baltic region’s leading cinema company, with 68 wholly owned and 50 partially owned cinemas in Sweden, Finland, Norway and the Baltic region. It was founded in 2003, when SF Bio merged with Finland’s Finnkino, then owned by Ratos, which sold its share to Bridgepoint in 2015.

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“For Bonnier, growth in recent years shows that the cinema industry continues to be strong, and we believe cinemas will remain an important arena for film. Through SF Studios, Bonnier will continue to be heavily involved in Swedish production and distribution,” said Erik Haegerstrand, CEO of Bonnier Holding.

Besides its 380 cinemas in the USA, AMC Theatres also has a presence in the European market, with 244 dark rooms in the UK, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Austria and Portugal, among others, through the UK’s Odeon Cinemas Group, which handles AMC’s European operations. Nordic Cinema Group will form part of it, and will still be based in Stockholm under the leadership of CEO Jan Bernhardsson.

“Now the company will have a new owner with a successful, nearly 100-year history in the cinema industry,” concluded Haegerstrand. The Bonnier media group works internationally in the fields of TV, daily newspapers, business and trade press, magazines, film, books and digital media, with operations in 14 countries and 8,000 employees.

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