LONDON: Britain’s Cineworld Group sealed an agreement to buy larger US peer Regal Entertainment Group on Tuesday for $3.6 billion in cash, a deal that would create the world’s second largest movie theater operator.
The takeover would put the combined company in a better position to take on industry leader AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc, and give it more scale to fight growing competition from Netflix Inc, Apple Inc. and other digital outlets.
Regal is three times larger than Cineworld by market value and the combined company would have about 9,542 screens, with 7,315 screens in the US.
Movie theaters have been struggling to win back viewers as competition from digital streaming platforms draws movie-goers away.
Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinger brushed aside those concerns.
“When they go to the cinema, they go to the cinema and who loves to go to the cinema more than the Americans?,” Greidinger told Reuters.
Greidinger said he expects to boost margins and revenue at Regal, adding that Cineworld currently has margins of 22 percent, while Regal has margins of about 19.6-19.7 percent.
Rival AMC is majority owned by China’s Dalian Wanda Group, which has bought a slew of cinema assets around the world, including taking a controlling stake in US film studio Legendary Entertainment last year.
The approach by Cineworld was considered well-timed as shares in the US company have plunged more than 20 percent over the past year on concerns over stagnant admissions at theaters.
The deal value of $23 per Regal share represents a premium of about 12 percent to Regal’s closing price on Monday and implies an enterprise value — equity plus debt — of $5.8 billion.
Regal shares have risen 13.6 percent since Reuters first reported in November that Cineworld had approached Regal over a potential deal. Cineworld shares have fallen about 20 percent in the period.
Cineworld said it expected the deal to “strongly” add to earnings in the first full year following completion, currently expected in the first quarter of 2018.
The combined company is expected to deliver pre-tax benefits of $100 million, as well as additional annual benefits of $50 million, the companies said.
Cineworld said it expected to fund the deal through a rights issue to raise about $2.3 billion, with the rest provided by committed debt facilities and existing cash.
Cineworld expects to be able to maintain its existing dividend policy after the deal closes.
However, brokerage Peel Hunt cut its recommendation to “hold” from “add,” citing long-term concerns.
While the deal provided a step-change in profitability and cash flow for Cineworld, “the long-term investment proposition had fundamentally changed as a result of higher debt and earnings becoming heavily dominated by mature markets,” Peel Hunt analysts wrote.
Cineworld targets US expansion with $3.6bn deal to buy Regal
Cineworld targets US expansion with $3.6bn deal to buy Regal
Kuwait to boost Islamic finance with sukuk regulation
- The move supports sustainable financing and is part of Kuwait’s efforts to diversify its oil-dependent economy
RIYADH: Kuwait is planning to introduce legislation to regulate the issuance of sukuk, or Islamic bonds, both domestically and internationally, as part of efforts to support more sustainable financing for the oil-rich Gulf nation, Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Al-Sabah highlighted that Kuwait is exploring a variety of debt instruments to diversify its economy. The country has been implementing fiscal reforms aimed at stimulating growth and controlling its budget deficit amid persistently low oil prices. Hydrocarbons continue to dominate Kuwait’s revenue stream, accounting for nearly 90 percent of government income in 2024.
The Gulf Cooperation Council’s debt capital market is projected to exceed $1.25 trillion by 2026, driven by project funding and government initiatives, representing a 13.6 percent expansion, according to Fitch Ratings.
The region is expected to remain one of the largest sources of US dollar-denominated debt and sukuk issuance among emerging markets. Fitch also noted that cross-sector economic diversification, refinancing needs, and deficit funding are key factors behind this growth.
“We are about to approve the first legislation regulating issuance of government sukuk locally and internationally, in accordance with Islamic laws,” Al-Sabah said.
“This enables us to deal with financial challenges flexibly and responsibly, and to plan for medium and long-term finances.”
Kuwait returned to global debt markets last year with strong results, raising $11.25 billion through a three-part bond sale — the country’s first US dollar issuance since 2017 — drawing substantial investor demand. In March, a new public debt law raised the borrowing ceiling to 30 billion dinars ($98 billion) from 10 billion dinars, enabling longer-term borrowing.
The Gulf’s debt capital markets, which totaled $1.1 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2025, have evolved from primarily sovereign funding tools into increasingly sophisticated instruments serving governments, banks, and corporates alike. As diversification efforts accelerate and refinancing cycles intensify, regional issuers have become regular participants in global debt markets, reinforcing the GCC’s role in emerging-market capital flows.
In 2025, GCC countries accounted for 35 percent of all emerging-market US dollar debt issuance, excluding China, with growth in US dollar sukuk issuance notably outpacing conventional bonds. The region’s total outstanding debt capital markets grew more than 14 percent year on year, reaching $1.1 trillion.
