Inox shareholders to get 3 PVR shares for every 10 – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The merger of PVR and Inox comes in the aftermath of the pandemic, when there’s a need for a consolidation in the multiplex industry and “creating scale to achieve efficiencies critical for long-term survival of the busiplatforms, said PVR’s Ajay Bijli, who will be MD of the merged entity.
“There is no doubt that consumer (content viewing) habits got changed (during the pandemic). One can say that there was no choice but to consume a lot of content on small screens and OTT platforms… you have big OTT players with very deep pockets. Only if you become stronger can you do that (compete). The pandemic expedited consolidation and made it more of an important thing to happen,” Bijli added. Jain, who will be a non-executive director on the board of the merged entity, said that multiplex cinema screens were the “hardest hit” in the past two years and a stronger, merged entity was an effective way to make a comeback while also growing operations.
“Someone has to start the investment cycle. What better way to do that than come together and do it… This partnership will bring in enhanced productivity through scale, a deeper reach in newer markets and numerous cost optimisation opportunities. ” The amalgamation is subject to regulatory approvals, which may take six to nine months. With the biggest screen population for any entity (India has around 9,600 theatre screens), the merger will also require approval over competition issues.
As part of the plan, Inox will merge with PVR. After merger, PVR promoters will hold 10. 62% stake while Inox promoters will have 16. 66% in the combined entity. Inox shareholders will receive three shares in PVR for 10 shares of Inox. The new company will have a board strength of 10 members, and both promoter families would have equal representation with two seats each.