“The Board of Directors of PVR Limited (PVR) and the Board of Directors of INOX Leisure Limited (INOX), at their respective meetings held on March 27, have approved an all stock amalgamation of INOX with PVR,” multiplex firms said in a joint statement on Sunday.

INOX will merge with PVR in a share swap ratio of three shares of PVR for every 10 shares of INOX, subject to their shareholder's approval, stock exchanges, SEBI, and other regulatory nods. The merged entity will be named as PVR INOX Limited with the branding of existing screens to continue as PVR and INOX. New cinemas opened post the merger will be branded as PVR INOX.

With PVR currently operating 871 screens across 181 properties in 73 cities and INOX operating 675 screens across 160 properties in 72 cities, the combined entity will become the largest film exhibition company in India operating 1,546 screens across 341 properties across 109 cities.

“The combination would augur well for the growth of the Indian cinema exhibition industry, besides ensuring tremendous value creation for all stakeholders, including customers, real estate developers, content producers, technology service providers, the state exchequer and above all, the employees,” as per the release.

Post the merger, the promoters of INOX will become co-promoters in the merged entity along with the existing promoters of PVR. The board of the merged company would be re-constituted with total board strength of 10 members and both the promoter families having equal representation on the board with 2 board seats each. PVR promoters will have 10.62% stake in the merged entity, while INOX promoters will hold 16.66% shares.

Ajay Bijli, the chairman of PVR, would be appointed as the managing director and Sanjeev Kumar, the joint managing director of PVR, would be given the role of the executive director. INOX’s Pavan Kumar Jain would be appointed as the non- executive chairman of the board, while Siddharth Jain would join as non-executive non-independent director in the combined entity.

Commenting on the announcement, Ajay Bijli, Chairman and Managing Director of PVR said – “The partnership of these two brands will put the consumer at the center of its vision and deliver an unparalleled movie going experience to them. The film exhibition sector has been one of the worst impacted sectors on account of the pandemic and creating scale to achieve efficiencies is critical for the long term survival of the business and fight the onslaught of digital OTT platforms.”

Speaking on the occasion, Siddharth Jain, Director – INOX Leisure Ltd said, “As we head into the industry’s revival amidst headwinds, this decisive partnership would bring in enhanced productivity through scale, a deeper reach in newer markets and numerous cost optimisation opportunities, and continue to delight cinema fans with world-class experiences and landmark innovations.”

The release mentioned that the merger would focus on using the strengths of both the organisations to provide an exceptional customer service and cinema experience to Indian moviegoers.

While strongly countering the adversities posed by the advent of various OTT platforms and the after-effects of the pandemic, the combined entity would also work towards taking world-class cinema experience closer to the consumers in Tier 2 and 3 markets, it added.

Film exhibition sector

PVR, INOX announce merger to create largest multiplex chain in India