The owners of Paramount Skydance have finalized the sale of the UCI cinema chain in Brazil, as reported by the Capital column of the newspaper O Globo. Harbor Lights Entertainment (HLE), an American company controlled by the Ellison family and RedBird Capital since acquiring the U.S. studio, is divesting from the UCI and UCI Kinoplex brands.
UCI Kinoplex is managed in partnership with the Severiano Ribeiro group. The assets involved in the sale comprise 25 cinema complexes and over 200 screening rooms, spread across 11 Brazilian states, including Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
According to the report, the buyer is a joint venture composed of the São Paulo network Cine Araújo, belonging to businessman Marcos Silva Araújo, and Grupo Vila Rica, which owns Cineart in Minas Gerais and the distributor Cineart Filmes.
The negotiation process was highly competitive and lasted for more than a year, with at least one other proposal presented to the American investors. UCI itself did not comment on the news when contacted.
Impact of the Acquisition on the National Market
With this acquisition, Cine Araújo is expected to surpass the Cinesystem and Kinoplex networks, consolidating itself as the third-largest network in the country in terms of screens, trailing only Cinemark and Cinépolis, according to Ancine data. The group will now manage a total of 432 screening rooms in Brazil.
Currently, Cine Araújo operates 29 cinema locations in ten states, many located outside the capitals, such as in Volta Redonda and Cabo Frio, in Rio de Janeiro; Campinas (SP); and Londrina (PR). Cineart exclusively operates in the state of Minas Gerais.
Although there is no clarity on the price paid by the buyers, previous reports indicated that UCI generated R$ 360 million in revenue in Brazil during 2024.
Other Global Operations of the Holding
The holding maintains cinemas in various markets, including Argentina, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and the United States, using the Showcase, Multiplex, and UCI brands. The company is in the process of divesting this portfolio in different regions.
In the United States, the company recently sold 13 units of the Showcase network to the Belgian group Kinepolis for US$ 30 million (equivalent to R$ 154.7 million). In Latin America, besides the Brazilian operation, the company is seeking a buyer for its cinemas in Argentina.
Parallel to the divestment of cinema operations, Paramount's owners are seeking to conclude the merger between the Hollywood studio and its competitor Warner Bros. Discovery. This transaction has been criticized by the cinema exhibitor sector, which alleges that the company resulting from this union could control more than 30% of the film distribution market in Brazil.
