The merger between PVR and Inox Leisure is expected to create a powerful entity in the Indian cinema industry. With a combined screen count of over 1,100 screens, the new company will have a significant presence in both urban and rural areas with INR 850 Cr Investment. The investment towards adding new screens and retrofitting existing ones is in line with their growth strategy to expand their reach and provide a better movie-watching experience to customers.
The integration of human resources, technology, and operations is a crucial step in any merger process. The merged entity plans to streamline these areas to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and provide a seamless experience to customers. Once these processes are completed, the company will focus on unlocking cost and revenue synergies. Revenue synergies are expected to arise from cross-selling opportunities, such as offering movie tickets along with food and beverage packages. Cost synergies will come from areas like supply chain optimization and overhead rationalization.
Ajay Bijli,PVR managing director, said, “The merged entity of PVR and Inox Leisure is expected to spend INR 800-850 crore for adding new movie screens and retrofitting the existing ones. They have set a 100-day action plan to complete the integration of the two firms, and once completed, the merger will generate annual cost and revenue synergies of ₹225 crore over the next 12-24 months”.
The cinema industry in India has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the closure of cinema halls for several months and the subsequent restrictions on capacity, the industry has faced unprecedented challenges. However, with the vaccine rollout and the easing of restrictions, the industry is expected to recover gradually.
The merger between PVR and Inox Leisure is expected to help the industry by creating a larger entity with a stronger financial position and better operational efficiency. This, in turn, is likely to attract more investment in the sector and provide a boost to the overall growth of the Indian cinema industry.
The given passage talks about the recent developments in the Indian cinema industry, particularly with regards to the merger of two prominent cinema chains – PVR and Inox Leisure. The passage begins by stating that in the current fiscal year, the two companies have collectively launched 143 new screens across various cities in India.
The passage then highlights the most recent launch by PVR, an 11-screen superplex in Lucknow’s Lulu Mall, which brings the company’s screen count to 158 across 32 properties in Uttar Pradesh. The merger between PVR and Inox Leisure has resulted in the creation of a new entity with a total of 438 screens across 100 properties located in North India. The new entity will be called PVR Inox, and it plans to expand its presence in South India and tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Additionally, the company aims to increase its share in the premium format segment, which is becoming increasingly popular among Indian movie-goers.
The passage also notes that the new entity will be headed by Bijli, who will serve as its Managing Director. According to Bijli, the new entity will hold an 18% market share in screens and 30% in box office collections nationwide. The combined entity will have a total of 1,642 screens in 113 cities and 354 properties in India.
The passage further explains that the merger was approved by the National Company Law Tribunal on January 12, and in a regulatory filing on February 23, PVR announced that it had approved the issuance of more than 36.70 million shares to equity shareholders of Inox Leisure.
Overall, the passage provides an overview of the recent developments in the Indian cinema industry, particularly with regards to the merger between PVR and Inox Leisure and the subsequent formation of a new entity called PVR Inox.
