MMCinemas

MMCinemas was a Mexican cinema exhibition brand established in 1981 by Grupo Multimedios, a Monterrey-based broadcasting company. The chain began with a movie theater in Monterrey and expanded primarily across northern Mexico, where it developed a regional multiplex network. Its geographic concentration distinguished it from larger national competitors and gave it a particularly strong presence in states including Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Sonora. By 1994, MMCinemas had grown to 14 multiplexes containing 47 screens. The business continued expanding over the following decade, but in 2006 Grupo Multimedios sold the chain to Latin America Movie Theatres, a joint venture involving private-equity firm Southern Cross Group and Morgan Stanley. This transaction placed MMCinemas under an investment-oriented ownership structure and preceded a further change in control. In February 2008, Germán Larrea Mota Velasco, through Grupo México holding company Entretenimiento GM de México, agreed to acquire an 80 percent interest in Latin America Movie Theatres. At that point, MMCinemas operated 50 cineplexes and 804 screens in 22 Mexican states. Its network remained weighted toward northern Mexico and had comparatively limited exposure to the Mexico City metropolitan area. Later in 2008, Entretenimiento GM acquired Cinemex from AMC Entertainment in a transaction valued at $315 million. Cinemex contributed 493 additional screens and provided access to the Mexico City market. The combination of the MMCinemas and Cinemex networks was expected to create a cinema operator with more than 30 percent of the Mexican market, second only to Cinépolis. Most MMCinemas locations were subsequently converted to the Cinemex brand. As a result, MMCinemas ceased to operate as an independent consumer-facing cinema brand, although its estate and regional network became part of the enlarged Cinemex platform. MMCinemas is therefore best understood as a former Mexican cinema-exhibition chain whose significance lies in its regional expansion, its transfer from a media-company owner to institutional and then industrial ownership, and its role in the 2008 consolidation of Mexico’s multiplex market.

MMCinemas originated within Grupo Multimedios, a broadcasting company based in Monterrey, Mexico. In 1981, Grupo Multimedios opened the first theater of what became MMCinemas in Monterrey. The company subsequently developed a multiplex chain focused mainly on northern Mexico, building a regional cinema-exhibition business rather than a network centered on the capital. The chain had reached 14 multiplexes and 47 screens by 1994. Its later growth expanded the footprint across additional Mexican states, with particularly important operations in Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Sonora. By the time of a major ownership transition in 2006, MMCinemas had become an established regional cinema operator. In 2006, Grupo Multimedios sold MMCinemas to Latin America Movie Theatres, a joint venture formed by Southern Cross Group and Morgan Stanley. The change placed the cinema business under new financial ownership. In February 2008, Germán Larrea Mota Velasco reached an agreement to acquire 80 percent of Latin America Movie Theatres through Entretenimiento GM de México, a holding company associated with Grupo México. At the time of that agreement, MMCinemas operated 50 cineplexes with 804 screens in 22 states. Although its network was substantial, it had little presence in the Mexico City metropolitan area. The ownership group addressed that geographic limitation later in 2008 by purchasing Cinemex from AMC Entertainment for $315 million. Cinemex added 493 screens and supplied a significant presence in the capital region. The combined network was expected to hold more than 30 percent of Mexico’s cinema market, placing it behind Cinépolis. Most MMCinemas venues were converted to the Cinemex name after the combination. The rebranding brought the independent MMCinemas identity to an end and incorporated much of its physical network into Cinemex’s operating platform. The brand is consequently defunct, while its historical importance is connected to the expansion of multiplex exhibition in northern Mexico and the consolidation of the Mexican cinema market in 2008.

• 2008

  Entretenimiento GM acquires an 80 percent interest in LAMT

  [1]MMCinemasen.wikipedia.org

  Germán Larrea Mota Velasco agreed to acquire 80 percent of Latin America Movie Theatres through Entretenimiento GM de México.

• 2008

  Cinemex acquisition and brand integration

  [1]MMCinemasen.wikipedia.org

  Entretenimiento GM acquired Cinemex from AMC Entertainment, and most MMCinemas locations were subsequently converted to the Cinemex brand.

• 2006

  Ownership transfers to Latin America Movie Theatres

  [1]MMCinemasen.wikipedia.org

  Grupo Multimedios sold MMCinemas to Latin America Movie Theatres, a Southern Cross Group and Morgan Stanley joint venture.

• 1994

  Chain reaches 14 multiplexes and 47 screens

  [1]MMCinemasen.wikipedia.org

  MMCinemas had expanded to 14 multiplexes with a combined 47 screens, primarily in northern Mexico.

• 1981

  First MMCinemas theater opens in Monterrey

  [1]MMCinemasen.wikipedia.org

  Grupo Multimedios established the cinema business by opening its first theater in Monterrey.

A regional Mexican multiplex operator with a strong northern-Mexico footprint, later integrated into the broader Cinemex network.

• Cinema exhibition · 1981

  MMCinemas multiplexes

  The core MMCinemas offering was commercial movie exhibition through multiplex venues. The chain’s network was concentrated primarily in northern Mexico and had expanded to 50 cineplexes and 804 screens across 22 states by 2008. Locations were later largely rebranded under Cinemex.

• Food and beverage

  Cinema concessions

  As a multiplex operator, MMCinemas also provided the standard concession component associated with commercial cinema venues. Specific branded concession products and formats are not documented in the supplied reference material.

• 2008

  Acquisition of Cinemex and consolidation of MMCinemasM&A

  Background

  Entretenimiento GM controlled the owner of MMCinemas and sought greater geographic reach, particularly in the Mexico City metropolitan area, where MMCinemas had limited presence.

  Action taken

  Entretenimiento GM acquired Cinemex from AMC Entertainment for $315 million and combined the networks.

  Aftermath

  The combined operation was expected to exceed 30 percent market share in Mexico, while most MMCinemas sites were converted to the Cinemex brand.

  Cinemex acquisition value. $315 million transaction value (2008)

  Source

• 2006

  Sale of MMCinemas to Latin America Movie TheatresM&A

  Background

  Grupo Multimedios transferred ownership of its cinema chain to Latin America Movie Theatres, a joint venture of Southern Cross Group and Morgan Stanley.

  Action taken

  MMCinemas became part of the LAMT portfolio.

  Aftermath

  The transaction preceded the 2008 acquisition of an 80 percent interest in LAMT by Entretenimiento GM de México.

  Source

1. 1MMCinemasen.wikipedia.org