Cinema Holdings 2 Ltd / Blackstone Group (6 cinemas)

OFT closed case: Anticipated acquisition by Cinema Holdings 2 Limited (a company controlled by Thomas Anderson, a senior member of the Ward Anderson family) of the following cinemas owned by the Blackstone Group: Cineworld Sunderland, Cineworld Bishop's Stortford, Cineworld Swindon, UGC Wigan, UGC Ealing, and UGC Birmingham Great Park.

Affected market: Cinema exhibition of film

No. ME/2118/05

On the basis of the information available to it, the Office of Fair Trading has decided that the anticipated acquisition by Cinema Holdings 2 Limited (a company controlled by Thomas Anderson, a senior member of the Ward Anderson family) of Cineworld Sunderland, Cineworld Bishop’s Stortford, Cineworld Swindon, UGC Wigan, UGC Ealing, and UGC Birmingham Great Park, does not qualify for investigation under the mergers provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002 (the Act), because neither the UK turnover test nor the share of supply test in section 23 of the Act is met.  A relevant merger situation has, therefore, not been created.

Published 20 December 2005