mm2 Asia gets deposit back for Golden Village acquisition

The other party was unable to fulfil certain conditions under the deal.

The acquisition of Golden Village Cinema business by mm2 Asia has taken the backseat after the group announced initially that the deal will be completed last month.

According to a statement from the film production and distribution firm, the group has received the deposit back in full from Village Cinemas Australia Pty Ltd.

Executive chairman of mm2 Asia Melvin Ang said Village Cinemas Australia was unable to procure fulfilment of certain conditions under the Shareholders Agreement entered into between Village Cinemas Australia and their existing co-shareholder of Dartina Development Limited.

"Whilst the deal with Village Cinemas Australia would have fit well with mm2 Asia, our cinema growth strategy is not dependent on this one acquisition alone. At this moment, we are constantly pursuing other opportunities in parallel to these discussions with Village Cinemas Australia," Ang said.

To recall, mm2 Asia is proposing to acquire 50% stake in Golden Village cinema business in Singapore for about $184.3m.

According to DBS Group Research, the proposed acquisition will be funded by a combination of bank borrowings, internal cash resources as well as proceeds from fund raising exercises to be undertaken by the group. The acquisition is expected to be completed by July 21.

Golden Village is Singapore's leading cinema exhibitor with 11 multiplexes housing 92 screens with locations in various parts of Singapore. Total capacity is 1,390 seats, consisting of 8 auditoriums and 3 Gold Class cinemas. Other cinema operators in Singapore include Shaw, Cathay and WE cinema by Eng Wah. Shaw has about eight cinemas, Cathay seven and WE, one.