Feds: AMC must sell some Indy theaters to make acquisition

The U.S. Justice Department said AMC Entertainment Group Inc., the second-largest U.S. movie theater owner, must sell some cinemas, including two in central Indiana, to proceed with plans to buy most of those operated by Kerasotes Showplace Theatres.

AMC must divest a total of eight properties in the Indianapolis area, Chicago and Denver to proceed with the $275 million acquisition, the department said Friday in an e-mailed statement. This would resolve concerns about competition in those cities, according to the statement.

Kerasotes has four theaters in the Indianapolis area; AMC has two.

Under terms of an sale agreement, AMC must divest AMC Castleton Square 14 or Kerasotes Showplace 12 Glendale Town on the north side of Indianapolis and AMC Greenwood 14.

Buying all except three of Kerasotes’s 96 theaters will increase AMC’s presence in the Midwest, the companies said when announcing the agreement in January. Both Kansas City, Missouri- based AMC and Chicago-based Kerasotes are closely held.

Kerasotes, the No. 6 movie chain, plans to keep theaters in Minneapolis, Chicago and Secaucus, N.J., the companies said.

AMC has more than 305 theaters and 4,574 screens in five countries.