Ster Kinekor to pull out
Ster Century, owned by the South African Ster Kinekor, one of the largest networks of multiplex cinemas in Poland is hoping to sell out to a branch or financial investor. The official reason given is a change in strategy. Ster Century operates four multiplexes in Poland and has so far invested around PLN200m here. Not long ago it was talking of placing a further PLN250m. Mike Ross from the head office of Ster Kinekor in London said that the main business of the company is in hotels and casino management. The company entered into the cinema business in order to diversify but now no longer feels that this is necessary. That is why the company wants to pull out of its multiplex interests. Branch specialists however criticise this move, believing that it could be an unwise investment decision. One of its competitors said that if Ster Century's results are similar in other countries to those of Poland then it may well have problems. One of its difficulties, the source explained, is the position of certain cinemas which are not as good as those of certain other operators. It is not clear which company may buy Ster Century’s Polish multiplexes. ING Barings have been handling the sale negotiations and they would appear to have been going on for some time. Mike Ross was unwilling to say which companies are talking to Ster Century. The company says that it does not only want to limit itself to the sale of its cinema network but also would be happy to find a new operator which could rent property belonging to the company. Given the current state of the cinema market neither option is very likely in the immediate future. Last year there were just over 18.7m visitors in Polish cinemas, suggesting that visiting frequency here is once every other year for the average Pole. This year it is likely to be greater thanks to a number of Polish 'super productions' such as the remake of Quo Vadis which has been given a great deal of publicity. Two years ago, record numbers of tickets were sold due to two major domestic productions, By Fire and the Sword and Pan Tadeusz. Cinema developers will certainly be keeping their fingers crossed for success as ticket sales look weak when compared to the amount being invested in the industry.