Village Roadshow Gets $523 Million Takeover Offer from PEP

(Bloomberg) -- Private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners is offering to take Australian cinema and theme park operator Village Roadshow Ltd. private for about A$761 million ($523 million).

Village Roadshow received an indicative proposal from PEP with an offer of A$3.90 per share, it said in a filing to the stock exchange on Thursday. The offer price is at a 22% premium to the cinema operator’s closing price on Wednesday. Village Roadshow has total debt of A$281 million, according to its latest annual report.

The private equity firm is willing to offer full cash considerations or a combination of cash and scrip in a new company set up for the acquisition, Village Roadshow said, adding it’s prepared to provide PEP with due diligence information.

The process may take some time and there’s no certainty that an acceptable proposal will eventuate, the company said.

Shares of Village Roadshow roses as much as 19% when trading resumed in Sydney
following a suspension.

Village Roadshow operates cinemas at 58 sites in Australia and attractions including Movie World and Sea World, according to its website. Any deal would put an end to a period of tumult for the company as its controlling family shareholders openly disagreed with each other over strategic direction and dividends.

To contact the reporter on this story: Harry Brumpton in Sydney at hbrumpton@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fion Li at fli59@bloomberg.net, Edward Johnson

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.