Saudi Entertainment Ventures (SEVEN) will buy out AMC Entertainment Holdings’ equity stake in Saudi Cinema Company (SCC) for $30 million.
SEVEN, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), will gain 100 percent ownership of AMC Entertainment in the country under the new agreement.
Following the launch of theatrical exhibition operations in Saudi Arabia for the first time since the 1980s, AMC Entertainment will transition from a management and investment role in SCC to “a pure licensing relationship”, per a statement from AMC.
AMC Entertainment, the world’s largest movie exhibition company, opened the first cinema and screened the first film in the kingdom in 2018 in more than 35 years.
AMC screened first film in Saudi in 2018
The company partnered with SEVEN to form Saudi Cinema Company in order to develop and operate cinemas in Saudi Arabia.
“When the joint venture was created, it had two goals,” said AMC’s chairman and CEO Adam Aron. “First, to bring moviegoing to the Saudi people.
“Second, and equally important, to train a theatre management and corporate team such that at some point in the future, the enterprise could be run locally within the kingdom.”
The current 13 AMC Cinemas and any future locations operated by SCC will continue to use the AMC brand name in the Saudi market via a licensing agreement.
Entertainment experiences across the kingdom
The acquisition comes as SEVEN is developing 21 entertainment destinations across the kingdom. The Saudi entertainment market is expected to reach 4.4 billion riyals ($1.2bn) by the end of 2030.
“The acquisition of AMC’s stake in Saudi Arabia reflects SEVEN’s long-term strategy of bringing unparalleled experiences to the people and visitors of the kingdom and contribute to the Saudi Vision 2030 goals,” said Abdullah Al-Dawood, SEVEN’s chairman.
“During the last five years we’ve opened 13 beautiful theatres, hired and trained so many Saudi nationals, endured a global pandemic, and, perhaps most importantly, helped bring movies to the Saudi people,” Aron added.
“In making this transition, we have enormous confidence in the team running these theatres and the venture is moving to the next stage exactly as we envisioned at the time we started.”
Image: Saudi Cinema Company
