PVR Opens First Multiplex Post Merger With INOX

The new multiplex has a seating capacity of 1,318 and incorporates two auditoriums of INSIGNIA, one each of KIDDLES and BIGPIX along with four other auditoriums.

“It is an extremely proud moment for us to open our first cinema under the unified entity in Indore. While bringing the best of cinema viewing formats, we aspire to provide an exceptional customer service and cinema experience to Indian moviegoers. The merged entity would unlock the immense potential of the Indian film exhibition industry improving its reach in newer markets and driving growth for the benefit of all stakeholders in the value chain," Ajay Bijli, managing director, PVR Ltd said in a statement.

Improving lifestyle choices of a young working population along with lack of out-of-home entertainment options are fuelling the need for movie-viewing experience in multiplexes as a leisure activity, PVR said in a statement. With only seven screens per million, India is an extremely under-screened market and the low penetration provides a significant growth opportunity for the company to reach untapped markets in tier-two and tier-three cities.

In March last year, the boards of PVR Ltd and Inox Leisure Ltd, had approved an all-stock merger of the companies to create India’s largest film exhibition entity with a network of more than 1,500 screens. While existing multiplex screens will retain their brands, new cinemas opened post the merger will be branded as PVR Inox. The merged entity will be named PVR Inox Ltd. With the pandemic having devastated the film exhibition business, the post-merger revenue of the two companies fell below Rs. 1,000 crore, the limit under which companies do not have to seek approval from the antitrust regulator.