By Mary Ellen Podmolik
| Two Kerasotes movie theater complexes within Chicago will reopen at 6
p.m. Tuesday as Regal Entertainment Group theaters, under an agreement
that allows Regal to gain a foothold within the city of Chicago.
Knoxville, Tenn.-based Regal announced Monday that it would acquire nine
theaters from AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. in Illinois, Indiana and
Colorado, in exchange for cash and two Regal theaters. While the company
is staying mum on several of the locations, two of the complexes are
the Kerasotes’ Chicago City North 14 and Webster Place 11 locations in
Chicago, a spokesman said.
Regal’s acquisition helps enable AMC Entertainment Group Inc. to acquire most of the theaters run by Chicago-based Kerasotes Showplace Theatres.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division filed both a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington to block AMC’s proposed $275 million acquisition of Kerasotes and a proposed settlement to resolve the lawsuit and address concerns that the acquisition would lessen competition and raise ticket prices among first-run movie theaters in the Chicago, Denver and Indianapolis areas.
As part of that settlement, AMC must divest AMC Gardens 13 in Skokie; Kerasotes Glen 10 in Glenview; AMC Cantera 30 in Warrenville; and Kerasotes Showplace 12 in Bolingbrook.
If the transaction with Chicago-based Kerasotes is approved, AMC must inform the Justice Department if it seeks to buy another movie theater in Chicago, Denver or Indianapolis in the next 10 years.
Regal said the acquisition, which would aid earnings, will close in its fiscal second quarter. Regal currently operates theater complexes in Crystal Lake, Lake Zurich, Lincolnshire and Round Lake Beach.
A couple of consolidations ago (I believe involving Loews) the spin offs to placate the Justice Dept. were dogs, to a minority owner who quickly went bankrupt.
Maybe after all the bankruptcies, only good multiplexes remain, but I still wonder if competition is going to be maintained, as no indication has been given even if there is a buyer for scattered assets. This seems like a usual Democratic Justice Department deal, hundreds of which were approved during the Clinton administration.
And yet AMC will still control the River East, plus City North, Webster Place and the new theater on Roosevelt?
No the Icon theater on Roosevelt is not involved in the Karasotas theater chain. It is owned by the Karasotas, but it is an entirely new concept as a high end theater chain that they plan to develop.
So the Showplace ICON on Roosevelt is not being acquired as part of the deal? I have not been to it yet, but I get updates from Kerasotes about it, and it’s covered on their website:
http://www.kerasotes.com/Showtimes.aspx?OptionTheater=Go&TheaterSearch=8146
I just got and email from Kerasotes that Regal is taking on Webster Place and City North on May 25th AND Regal will NOT be honoring the Five Buck Club cards. I am not happy about that!!!
I heard they are acctually taking over City North and Webster Place too. Don’t know why it isn’t mentioned in this article.
I got an email today from Kerasotes saying that AMC has sold City North 14 and Webster Place to Regal and that Regal will be taking over management on May 25, 2010 at these two locations.
The article DOES clearly mention the the City North and the Webster Place locations.
As a regular patron of this original AMC Theater location at Cantera in Warrenville as well as at sister AMC Theater location at South Barrington, I wonder at what the criteria were for choosing this particular location. AMC Cantera is (was) one of the prime AMC Theater locations in the western suburbs as well as the entire midwest. I hope that the new owners will continue to keep thjis location in good repair. Too many theaters decline due to poor management and disrepair. I also hope that they continue to commit to showing rarer, less-known films. This location has been a leader in doing so in the past.
For now I will be attending the AMC Yorktown in Lombard more often. Oddly enough, it was originally a General Cinema theater.
Of course they will not be able to continue the “specials” that AMC had, not their fault. Regal has a few deals of its own with the club card. I have faith that they will take good care of these locations, the suburban illinois theatres they own are in great shape and are extremely friendly and have been that way for over 10 years