Imax Corp., the operator of big-screen cinemas, is seeking to buy out its Hong Kong-traded Chinese subsidiary in a deal valued at $124 million.
Purchasing the shares of Imax China Holding Inc. will save the parent company about $2 million in annual costs and add to earnings immediately, according to a statement Wednesday.
Imax is offering to buy the shares at HK$10 each. Trading in the Hong Kong stock was suspended, with the shares last quoted at HK$9.12. The company said the bid represents a 49% premium over the 30-day average closing price.
The Chinese subsidiary was established in 2011 as a corporate home for Imax’s expansion in that country. Business in China accounted for about 24% of the company’s $300.8 million in sales last year. The first Imax China theater opened in 2007, and there are 770 today, the most of any market.
Imax estimates full ownership of the Chinese subsidiary in the first quarter of this year would have added $5 million to its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Shares of Imax fell less than 1% to $17.08 at the close Wednesday in New York. They have gained 17% this year.
The cinema chain operator has seen a revival of its business in China amid a mainland box office recovery following Beijing’s abrupt pivot from Covid Zero restrictions in late 2022. The company raked in $34 million in box office during the 6-day Chinese New Year holiday earlier this year — its highest ever during the period.
China’s box office is recovering steadily despite a more sluggish return in overall consumption demand so far this year. Box office for the week of July 7 exceeded that of the same period in 2019 by over 60%, as an increasing number of new films hit the big screen at the beginning of summer vacation. Ticket sales also soared to the second-highest amount on record for the Dragon Boat Festival holiday in late June.
(Updates with context on Imax’s China business.)
