Cineplex Odeon Agrees To Buy Cinemark Usa

Cineplex Odeon Corp. said Thursday it has agreed to purchase Cinemark USA Inc. in a $390 million deal to create the world’s largest movie theater operator.

The new company will be called Cineplex International Corp. and will operate 519 theaters with 2,839 screens in Canada, the United States, Mexico and Chile. Cineplex International will have revenue of about $840 million, based on 1994 figures for the separate companies.

Terms of the transaction call for Cineplex Odeon to issue 104 million shares of its own common stock to Cinemark shareholders. As of Thursday’s close, the stock would be worth $234 million.

The remainder of the purchase price includes a $50 million cash payment and the assumption of more than $100 million of Cinemark debt. Cineplex Odeon stock closed Thursday at $2.25 a share on the New York Stock Exchange, up 37 cents.

Toronto-based Cineplex Odeon said the new company will add 900 more screens during the next three years.

Regulatory and shareholder approval are still needed.