South African Cinema Ster-Kinekor Receives Offer To Purchase From Blantyre Capital And Greenpoint Capital
South African Cinema Ster-Kinekor Receives Offer To Purchase From Blantyre Capital And Greenpoint Capital. South African cinema Ster-Kinekor has announced that it has received an offer to purchase 100% of the company from Blantyre Capital and Greenpoint Capital as part of its rescue plan. The company has been negatively affected by the Covid 19 pandemic and it seeks to use as its way of getting things back on track.
According to the company the offer forms the basis of this Rescue Plan and the principal source of dividends to Creditors. The Proposal is supported by a binding offer letter from the Investor ‘in waiting’, who is already invested in cinema and for which the funds are immediately available. In the context of both the ongoing global pandemic and the business’ trading and loss of cash flow generation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic which has prevailed for the past two years, the transaction (Proposal) as provided for in this Rescue Plan provides for the quickest and most efficient manner in which to exit SKT from business rescue and return it to solvency, whilst also seeking to maximise recoveries to Creditors (both in respect of pre business rescue debts and ongoing trading of the business.
This will ensure the preservation of approximately 800 jobs – critical in the current South African environment where there is high unemployment, this will also ensure preservation of the largest cinema chain in South Africa and an important source of entertainment for ordinary South Africans and growth platform for SKT – a recapitalised business with a strengthened balance sheet which should allow the business to regain lost growth during the pandemic and expand where feasible.
Ster Kinekor is a South African-based cinema company, and the country’s largest movie exhibitor. It represents 60-65% of the market, having 55 cinema complexes consisting of 400 screens and 64,000 seats; 154 of those screens being 3D cinemas.
