GSC Announces The Acquisition of MBO Cinema’s Assets

Back in October last year, news broke out that the local cinema chain, MBO Cinemas had decided to go through creditors’ voluntary liquidation after facing difficulties operating under the Movement Control Order (MCO) which has generally put the local cinema industry to a halt.

As it turns out, the liquidation will not be the end of the story for MBO Cinemas though as Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) have agreed to purchase the majority of the cinema chain’s assets from its former operators, MCAT Box Office and Reel Entertainment Holdings.

Even though GSC admitted that the current business environment is still quite challenging, the company which is a subsidiary of PPB Group Berhad stated that the acquisition is a strategic move. In addition to that, GSC is confident that the acquisition, as well as the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines in Malaysia, will help accelerate its recovery from the current slump caused by the pandemic.

GSC also pointed out that big-screen experience can’t be replicated at home, despite the emergence of other media such as television, home video, and the Internet. Hence, the company is quite confident that the cinema will continue to prevail.

However, GSC didn’t reveal the financial cost behind the acquisition in its announcement today. That being said, it expects that the deal will be completed by the end of this June.

GSC Closes Cheras Leisure Mall And Berjaya Times Square Cinemas Permanently

The COVID-19 pandemic has obviously not been good for cinemas. And it’s hitting GSC pretty hard. The cinema chain has announced that it’s closing two outlets, the ones in Cheras Leisure Mall and Berjaya Times Square.

GSC made the announcement via its official Facebook page. The statement itself attributes the CMCO as the reason behind the closures. But on the flip side, the company says to keep an eye out for its reopening in the Klang Valley. Of course, it’s too early to give a specific fate for any of that.

It’s a little sad for moviegoes who have frequented these two specific GSC outlets. The company also points out that the one in Cheras Leisure Mall was operated since 1995, and the one in Berjaya Times Square started a decade later, in 2005. This also means that the company lost two outlets in the Bukit Bintang area in the span of a year.

And with the number of cases in the country hitting new highs in recent weeks, the situation will likely remain unchanged for quite awhile. Hopefully no other outlets suffer the same fate in the meantime, which is a possibility that should not be discounted.