Onex Corp. selling Loews Cineplex chain

TORONTO (AP) _ A group of U.S. investors have agreed to buy the Loews Cinexplex Entertainment theater chain for $1.46 billion. <br/><br/>Onex Corp. and Oaktree Capital Management, which own Loews, announced

Monday, June 21st 2004, 9:37 am

By: News On 6

TORONTO (AP) _ A group of U.S. investors have agreed to buy the Loews Cinexplex Entertainment theater chain for $1.46 billion.

Onex Corp. and Oaktree Capital Management, which own Loews, announced plans Monday to sell the world's third-largest cinema chain, with over 200 theaters and 2,200 screens worldwide.

The buyer is a corporation formed by Bain Capital, the Carlyle Group and Spectrum Equity Investors, Toronto-based Onex said.

The assets being acquired include Loews' operations in the U.S., Grupo Cinemex in Mexico, and its 50 percent interests in Megabox Cineplex of Korea and Yelmo Cineplex of Spain.

``Thanks in part to an existing theater portfolio that has been recently upgraded, Loews is well-positioned to capitalize on the industry's steady growth prospects. The investor group will work closely with the talented management team to grow the business,'' John Connaughton, a Managing Director at Bain Capital, said in a written release.

Onex said its share of the cash proceeds is expected to be about $566 million. In addition, Onex will continue to own units of Cineplex Galaxy, valued at about $77 million, which operates the Loews theater business in Canada as well as Galaxy Entertainment.

Onex is a conglomerate with annual revenue of about $12 billion and assets of $10 billion. Oaktree Capital Management, based in Los Angeles, is a private investment management firm with about $29 billion in assets.

Bain Capital, based in Boston, is a private investment firm with more than $20 billion in assets under management. The Carlyle Group, based in Washington, D.C., is also a private equity firm with more than $18 billion under management. Spectrum Equity Investors has more than $3 billion in capital under management.