Scandinavian media giant Bonnier and the Swedish private equity group Ratos announced on Monday the merger of their respective cinema chains SF Bio and Finnkino. Ratos has taken a majority 60% stake of the new Nordic cinema group, with the remaining 40% staying under Bonnier ownership.
Each exhibition company will continue to operate under their current names and promised to support the new cinema group's long-term growth ambitions in the existing and new markets.
SF Bio is the biggest cinema chain in Sweden with 43 cinemas and 282 screens. It dominates the domestic market with a 66% share of all cinema tickets sold. In Norway, SF Kino is the largest private cinema operator with nine venues and a 15% market share. Finnkino is the largest in its field in Finland and in the Baltic region with 24 cinemas and 158 screens. Last year the Finnish group sold a total of 10.5 million cinema tickets, including 5.8 million in Finland. It also runs a theatrical and DVD distribution company. The new Nordic cinema giant has an enterprise value of around SEK3 billion. It will have sales of nearly SEK2.6 billion with an operating profit of around SEK360 million.
Jan Bernhardsson, current CEO for SF Bio who will also run the new Nordic cinema group said: "The new business will have a dream position in the European cinema market. Both SF Bio and Finnkino are growing profitably today. Together, we gain the power to invest further so we can offer moviegoers a good selection of films and the best possible cinema experience." Jonas Bonnier, CEO for the Scandinavian media giant also said: "Bonnier's long-term engagement in the film industry will continue as we start an exciting phase where the new cinema group can take both a leading position as the industry undergoes change and continue to promote a broad, local selection of films."
Commenting on the merger, Anna Serner, head of the Swedish Film Institute gave a mixed reaction: "I'm happy it's a Swedish company that runs the new cinema group as they understand Swedish culture and Swedish film. But at the same time we have one heavyweight group that has an even greater power and monopoly, and a new owner who has only one clear goal: to give the investors return on investments. So I'm afraid we will see even more commercial film and less art house fare."
The Ratos/Bonnier cinema merger is expected to be completed late April, after the approval of the merger from the competition authorities.