mm2 Asia in talks to acquire a stake in Golden Village Cinemas

mm2 Asia has unveiled plans to acquire a stake in Dartina Developments, which holds the Golden Village Cinema business in Singapore. This will be done via the acquisition of Village Cinemas Australia’s entire stake in Dartina Development, the latter currently incorporated in Hong Kong.According to a press statement, discussions and negotiations are still ongoing and at a preliminary stage.“In particular, shareholders and potential investors should note that there is no assurance that the proposed purchase referred to in this announcement will materialise,” Melvin Ang, executive chairman of mm2 Asia said in a filing. This comes hot in the heels of mm2 Entertainment entering an agreement with Turner Asia Pacific to co-produce five cinematic films over the next three years with a multi-million-dollar budget.The move is not a new one for mm2 Asia which made a similar move in Malaysia recently, acquiring the cinema management and operations business of Lotus Fivestar Cinemas for 13 cinema locations. This was for a purchase consideration of RM118 million. Meanwhile in 2015, it also completed the acquisition of Cathay Cineplexes business operations at two locations in Malaysia for RM40 million (SG$13.8 million). The acquisition was done through the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, mm2 Screen Management.This follows the group’s indirect subsidiary UnUsUaL also unveiling plans to invest in promotions as well as production projects, through the use of the estimated SG$17.4million net proceeds from its initial IPO. This comes as the company looks towards regional expansion, developing its own IP format, events and shows.