Cinépolis Acquires Texas’s Moviehouse & Eatery Dine-in Theaters

Image Courtesy of Cinepolis

Mexico-based theater chain Cinépolis is acquiring Moviehouse & Eatery, a dine-in cinema circuit in Texas with five locations and one under construction.

Cinépolis currently operates 5,941 screens across 738 cinemas in 17 countries, welcoming over 338 million patrons annually. Once the transaction is completed, Cinépolis will operate 258 screens at 26 locations in seven states in the United States.

Alejandro Ramírez Magaña, chief executive officer of Cinépolis, said, “We are fully committed to bring our global expertise to the U.S. market. This is a strategic transaction that will help us to expand and strengthen our best-in-class luxury offer in this market and around the world.”

Arturo López Martín, chief investment officer of Cinépolis, stated, “Cinépolis is the premier luxury player in the United States and across the globe. We are truly excited about the prospects of this transaction, as we continue to bet on the potential of differentiated moviegoing experiences.”

Moviehouse & Eatery co-founder Leslie Sloan noted, “Cinépolis shares the same high standards that we maintain at Moviehouse & Eatery and it is the perfect company to take Moviehouse to the next level. We are excited that Cinépolis will expand the Moviehouse experience to people all across the country.” Co-founder Rodney Speaks added, “Cinépolis provides our Moviehouse & Eatery employees the opportunity to grow with a global exhibitor.”

Speaks and Sloan, originally real estate developers before venturing into the dine-in theater business, intend to continue working with Cinépolis to develop new theater sites in the United States.

Since the opening of its first theater in 2012, Moviehouse & Eatery has grown to five theatres and 47 screens in the Austin and Dallas metropolitan areas. Each location offers scratch-made food and recliner seating, as well as full bars and dine-in service using call-button technology. Moviehouse & Eatery also offers a premium large format auditorium, “Bighouse,” in three locations. The circuit’s sixth theater is under construction in the Woodlands suburb of Houston and is expected to open in November 2019.

Cinépolis USA has no immediate plans to make any operational or guest-facing changes to the Moviehouse & Eatery brand. Moviehouse & Eatery will continue to operate independently until further notice and retain all existing employees, programs, and scheduled events.

Dechert LLP is serving as legal counsel to Cinépolis. PJ Solomon is serving as financial advisor and Hightower and Associates is serving as legal counsel to Moviehouse & Eatery.

Image Courtesy of Cinepolis

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