Heres the CNW report on the merger--it is a little more informative.
Canada NewsWire
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Attention Business, Entertainment And Film Editors:
LOEWS THEATRES EXHIBITION GROUP AND CINEPLEX ODEON COMPLETE MERGER TO FORM LOEWS CINEPLEX ENTERTAINMENT
Arranges $1 Billion Credit Facility
Announces Senior Management Appointments
NEW YORK and TORONTO, May 14 /CNW/ -- Loews Theatres Exhibition
Group, a unit of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), and Cineplex Odeon
Corporation (NYSE CPX; TSE: CPX) today announced that they have completed
their previously announced merger and officially created Loews Cineplex
Entertainment Corporation. As of tomorrow, Loews Cineplex will be listed as
"LCP" on the New York Stock Exchange and "LCX" on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The Company will be headquartered in New York City with Canadian headquarters
in Toronto.
Loews Cineplex also announced that it has successfully obtained a
$1 billion senior credit facility which will be used to finance the
transaction and, along with operating cash flow and equity resources, will be
available to fund Loews Cineplex's domestic and international exhibition
plans. Bankers Trust Company is the lead manager of the facility and the
co-lead managers include Bank of America NT & SA, The Bank of New York, Credit
Suisse First Boston and The Bank of Nova Scotia.
Lawrence J. Ruisi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Loews
Cineplex, said, "We are pleased to complete this transaction and look forward
to fully integrating our two companies. This combination has created a
company with the scale of operations, financial resources and management
expertise to effectively compete in the rapidly growing and consolidating
theatre exhibition industry. As a result of the merger, we expect to attain
improved cash flow through increased revenues from new theatre openings and
expansions, both domestically and internationally, combined with significant
overhead savings and operational efficiencies."
Loews Cineplex is one of the world's largest motion picture exhibition
companies with projected annual revenues of approximately $1 billion, and over
2,700 screens in 425 locations primarily in major cities in 22 states
throughout the United States and six provinces in Canada. Loews Cineplex
expects to open an additional 12-15 state-of-the-art locations each year in
North America, and to continue to close obsolete or underperforming theatres
that are no longer viable. The Company also intends to aggressively expand
into key international markets, many of which are currently underserved.
As a result of the merger, SPE owns 51.1% of Loews Cineplex's shares
(representing 49.9% of the voting shares); Universal Studios owns 26.0% (after
a cash contribution of $84.5 million); the Trusts for the Charles Rosner
Bronfman Family own 9.6%; and the Cineplex Odeon public shareholders own the
remaining 13.3% of the new company. Cineplex Odeon shareholders received one
Loews Cineplex share for every ten Cineplex Odeon shares they held. Loews
Cineplex has approximately 45.2 million shares outstanding.
Loews Cineplex also announced today the following senior management
appointments: Travis Reid - President, U.S. Operations; John J. Walker -
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; John C. McBride, Jr. -
Senior Vice President and General Counsel; Mindy Tucker - Corporate Vice
President of Strategic Planning and Secretary of the Company; and Joseph
Sparacio - Vice President, Finance and Controller.
In a previous announcement, Lawrence J. Ruisi was named President and
Chief Executive Officer of Loews Cineplex, and Allen Karp was named Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer of Cineplex Odeon Canada and a Director of Loews
Cineplex. Mr. Karp, who served as President and Chief Executive Officer of
Cineplex Odeon, said, "The combination of Cineplex Odeon and Loews Theatres
delivers to Cineplex Odeon shareholders our vision of creating one of the
strongest theatre exhibition companies in the world, positioned to provide
significant shareholder value."
Travis Reid, President, U.S. Operations, most recently served as President
of Loews Theatres. Mr. Reid began his career with Loews Theatres in 1991 as
Vice President of Film and was subsequently promoted to Senior Vice President
of Film and then to Executive Vice President of Loews Theatres. Prior to
joining Loews Theatres, Mr. Reid was Vice President of Film for General Cinema
Corporation's Midwest, Southwest and Western regions.
John J. Walker, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Loews
Cineplex, was previously Senior Vice President, Finance, for Loews Theatres.
Mr. Walker joined Loews Theatres in 1988 as Vice President, Controller, and
was subsequently promoted to Vice President, Finance. Prior to joining Loews
Theatres, Mr. Walker spent five years as the Controller of Corporate Property
Investors, the largest equity REIT in the U.S, and the previous eight years as
Treasurer and Controller of Princess Hotels International.
John C. McBride, Jr., Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Loews
Cineplex, served as Senior Vice President, Legal Affairs, of Sony Pictures
Entertainment since 1996. From 1992 to 1996, Mr. McBride was Vice President,
Legal Affairs of SPE. Previously, Mr. McBride was the Assistant General
Counsel of SPE. Prior to joining SPE, from 1982 to 1990, he was an associate
with the law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Mindy Tucker, Corporate Vice President of Strategic Planning and Secretary
of the Company, joined Sony in 1990 and has held a variety of positions
including Senior Vice President of Development and Planning and Vice President
of Business Development, Sony Retail Entertainment, the parent of Loews
Theatres. Previously, Ms. Tucker served as Vice President with the
International Distribution Group and as Vice President of Corporate Strategy
and Planning of SPE.
Joseph Sparacio, Vice President, Finance and Controller of Loews Cineplex,
previously held the position of Vice President, Finance & Controller of Loews
Theatres. Mr. Sparacio joined Loews Theatres in August 1990 as Controller.
Previously, he spent eight years with the Big Six accounting firm of Ernst &
Young in New York, where he was Senior Manager of Audit.
Commenting on the appointments, Lawrence J. Ruisi said, "I am proud to
bring a team to Loews Cineplex as accomplished and dedicated as these five
individuals. This group, along with Allen Karp, will play an important role
as we begin to execute our plan for continued development of the North
American and international markets. I look forward to working closely with
them for years to come."
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For further information: Mindy Tucker of Sony-Loews Theatres,
212-833-6073; or Howard Lichtman of Cineplex Odeon, 416-323-6634
This press release concerns more than one organization.
To view releases from one of these organizations, please select from below.
LOWES THEATRES EXHIBITION GROUP
CINEPLEX ODEON CORPORATION
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