(By Balaseshan) Carmike Cinemas Inc. (NASDAQ: CKEC), a motion picture exhibitor, said it has completed acquisition of two movie theatres with a total of 16 screens from Phoenix Big Cinemas, the 20th largest theatre circuit in North America.
The Phoenix Big facilities have 8 analog screens each and are located in Madisonville, Kentucky and Greeneville, Tennessee.
Carmike intends to immediately begin converting the screens to digital cinema, utilizing Christie digital projectors from its own surplus inventory, as well as installing four 3-D screens at each respective location, in conjunction with 3-D technology partner RealD.
Carmike said the digital conversion of all 16 auditoriums and the addition of cutting-edge RealD 3-D technology will further enhance the movie-going experience for all customers that frequent the Greeneville, Tennessee and Madisonville, Kentucky theatres.
"In the current environment we believe there are further opportunities to optimize our portfolio through selective acquisitions, as we continue on the path toward achieving the company's strategic goal of expanding our footprint to 300 theatres and 3,000 screens," said David Passman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Carmike.
Carmike now has 21 Tennessee-based and 6 Kentucky-based entertainment complexes. As of September 30, 2012, Carmike had 232 theatres with 2,242 screens in 35 states. Carmike's digital cinema footprint reached 2,119 screens, including 208 theatres with 748 screens that are also equipped for 3-D.
CKEC is trading down 0.94% at $13.65 on Friday. The stock has been trading between $5.98 and $15.80 for the past 52 weeks.