INOX Leisure Ltd, India's second-largest multiplex chain operator, and New Delhi-based Satyam Cineplexes Ltd have extended the deadline for completion of their merger till the end of December 2016 due to pending court approval.
The development came after the Delhi High Court reserved its order on the matter, INOX said in a stock exchange filing. The deal was due to be completed this month. There are no other “material changes in the schemeâ€, INOX said.
INOX had agreed to buy Satyam in July last year for Rs 182 crore. Satyam has nine multiplexes, including three in Delhi and one each in Amritsar, Indore, Jodhpur, Mysore, Rohtak and Aurangabad with total 38 screens.
There have been a string of consolidation moves in the multiplex business over the past five years that started with INOX acquiring Fame in 2010 after a takeover battle with Big Cinemas. This was followed by Delhi-based PVR Ltd's acquisition of Cinemax, which catapulted PVR to the pole position.
In September this year, INOX acquired two theatres of Multiplex Cinema with total six screens in Gujarat for an undisclosed amount.
In June this year, PVR agreed to buy the cinema exhibition business of realtor DLF Ltd for Rs 500 crore.
Late last year, Carnival Group bought Big Cinemas to become the third-largest multiplex operator. Others like Cinepolis have also acquired competitors to scale up their business.