Back in October last year, news broke out that the local cinema chain, MBO Cinemas had decided to go through creditors’ voluntary liquidation after facing difficulties operating under the Movement Control Order (MCO) which has generally put the local cinema industry to a halt.
As it turns out, the liquidation will not be the end of the story for MBO Cinemas though as Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) have agreed to purchase the majority of the cinema chain’s assets from its former operators, MCAT Box Office and Reel Entertainment Holdings.
Even though GSC admitted that the current business environment is still quite challenging, the company which is a subsidiary of PPB Group Berhad stated that the acquisition is a strategic move. In addition to that, GSC is confident that the acquisition, as well as the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines in Malaysia, will help accelerate its recovery from the current slump caused by the pandemic.
GSC also pointed out that big-screen experience can’t be replicated at home, despite the emergence of other media such as television, home video, and the Internet. Hence, the company is quite confident that the cinema will continue to prevail.
However, GSC didn’t reveal the financial cost behind the acquisition in its announcement today. That being said, it expects that the deal will be completed by the end of this June.
(Source: Golden Screen Cinemas. Image: Kuok Group / MBO Cinemas [1][2])
