Demand for movies is rising in Turkey, where cinema ticket revenue jumped 23 percent last year, according to state statistics office data. The number of theaters nationwide increased 3.2 percent, the data show.
Turkey has a particularly dynamic media environment, with growing box office and, on TV, a vibrant sector with almost 18 million households in the gateway between Europe and Asia.
Mavi Boncuk |
South Korea’s CJ-CGV[1] has sealed a deal to acquire Mars Entertainment[2], the largest movie chain in Turkey. The deal has a price tag of $687 million (Euros 605 million) which expands to $800 million with the inclusion of net debt. The sellers, advised by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, are the Turkish private equity firms Esas Holding AS and Actera Group which own a combined 69.5 percent, as well as founding partners Muzaffer Yildirim and Menderes Utku, who own the remainder. The sale is expected to be closed in May, according to the statement. Citigroup Inc. represented CJ CGV in the deal.
CGV is leading a consortium of bidders, according to a regulatory filing. The Korean company said that it will directly hold a 38% stake, while its partners will hold the remainder.
Similarly, Sony Pictures Television Networks has taken a majority stake in Turkish free-to-air network Planet TV. The deal is joint venture with Turkish advertising group Satis Ofisi. It would rep the second big Turkish media deal in a few days, following on from Korea’s CJ- CGV acquired leading Turkish theatre chain Mars Cinema in a deal reported to be worth $687 million.
Sony’s deal marks its first entry into the dynamic Turkish TV market. Planet TV has four channels: Pembe, which airs Turkish soaps and dramas; Turk, which airs local movies; cooking channel Mutfak and Cocuk, a kids channel. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval.
[1] CGV started as Theater Business Team inside CJ CheilJedang in 1995. CJ Golden Village was jointly established in 1996 by CJ Cheil Jedang of Korea, Orange Sky Golden Harvest of Hong Kong and Village Roadshow of Australia. However, now it is operated by CJ only as Golden Harvest and Village Roadshow have pulled out of the group. CGV opened the first multiplex in Gangbyeon in 1998. It merged CJ Golden Village and renamed the company to CJ CGV. In December 2004, it became the first theater chain listed on the Korea Stock Exchange.
[2] Mars, which was founded in 2001 by Muzaffer Yildirim and taken over by the Actera Group in 2010. They currently account for more than half of Turkey’s total box office. The transaction means Mars Cinema Group, which owns 83 multiplexes with 736 screens under the Cinemaximum brand in Turkey, has an enterprise value, or market capitalization plus debt, of $800 million, the buyers and sellers said in a joint e-mailed statement. The deal brings the South Korean company closer to its target of operating 10,000 screens globally by 2020. The unit of South Korea’s CJ Group has said it is also considering buying the U.K.-based Odeon & UCI cinema chains from Terra Firma Capital Partners.
Turkey has a particularly dynamic media environment, with growing box office and, on TV, a vibrant sector with almost 18 million households in the gateway between Europe and Asia.
Mavi Boncuk |
South Korea’s CJ-CGV[1] has sealed a deal to acquire Mars Entertainment[2], the largest movie chain in Turkey. The deal has a price tag of $687 million (Euros 605 million) which expands to $800 million with the inclusion of net debt. The sellers, advised by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, are the Turkish private equity firms Esas Holding AS and Actera Group which own a combined 69.5 percent, as well as founding partners Muzaffer Yildirim and Menderes Utku, who own the remainder. The sale is expected to be closed in May, according to the statement. Citigroup Inc. represented CJ CGV in the deal.
CGV is leading a consortium of bidders, according to a regulatory filing. The Korean company said that it will directly hold a 38% stake, while its partners will hold the remainder.
Similarly, Sony Pictures Television Networks has taken a majority stake in Turkish free-to-air network Planet TV. The deal is joint venture with Turkish advertising group Satis Ofisi. It would rep the second big Turkish media deal in a few days, following on from Korea’s CJ- CGV acquired leading Turkish theatre chain Mars Cinema in a deal reported to be worth $687 million.
Sony’s deal marks its first entry into the dynamic Turkish TV market. Planet TV has four channels: Pembe, which airs Turkish soaps and dramas; Turk, which airs local movies; cooking channel Mutfak and Cocuk, a kids channel. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval.
[1] CGV started as Theater Business Team inside CJ CheilJedang in 1995. CJ Golden Village was jointly established in 1996 by CJ Cheil Jedang of Korea, Orange Sky Golden Harvest of Hong Kong and Village Roadshow of Australia. However, now it is operated by CJ only as Golden Harvest and Village Roadshow have pulled out of the group. CGV opened the first multiplex in Gangbyeon in 1998. It merged CJ Golden Village and renamed the company to CJ CGV. In December 2004, it became the first theater chain listed on the Korea Stock Exchange.
[2] Mars, which was founded in 2001 by Muzaffer Yildirim and taken over by the Actera Group in 2010. They currently account for more than half of Turkey’s total box office. The transaction means Mars Cinema Group, which owns 83 multiplexes with 736 screens under the Cinemaximum brand in Turkey, has an enterprise value, or market capitalization plus debt, of $800 million, the buyers and sellers said in a joint e-mailed statement. The deal brings the South Korean company closer to its target of operating 10,000 screens globally by 2020. The unit of South Korea’s CJ Group has said it is also considering buying the U.K.-based Odeon & UCI cinema chains from Terra Firma Capital Partners.