(Bloomberg) — Privately held European cinema chain Vue International Inc. has received a takeover offer and is working with financial advisers to consider options, including a sale, according to people familiar with the matter.
CVC Capital Partners and Elliott Management were among potential bidders interested in buying the chain, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
The talks are in the early stages and it’s not certain a deal will be reached, the people said. Representatives for Vue and Elliott declined to comment. CVC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If acquired, Vue would be a vehicle for consolidation in the cinema industry, allowing the company to expand into new markets and cut duplicate costs, according to people familiar with the matter. As of November, Vue operated 225 cinemas with more than 2,000 screens across Europe, including Britain, Italy and Poland, according to its annual report.
The world’s largest cinema chains have been working to cut costs in the wake of the pandemic, which closed theaters and the stalled recovery since then. In July, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., the world’s largest cinema chain, restructured its debt, postponing some payments from 2026 to 2029. Lenders for Cineworld Group Inc., owner of Regal, which filed for bankruptcy in 2022, voted this week to move forward with the company’s proposed reorganization plan.
While global box office takings are still below the records set in 2019, before the pandemic, billion-dollar blockbusters such as Walt Disney Co.’s Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” and Disney’s Marvel Studios’ “Deadpool & Wolverine” have boosted revenues in recent months.
Vue has been under the control of its lenders since 2022. Barings LLC and Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired the company in July of that year as part of a debt restructuring.
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