Some 32 theaters in 12 states are being sold for $240 million.
The Rave Cinemas in West Springfield is among 32 theaters in 12 states being sold to Cinemark USA Inc. Other theaters include the Eastfield Mall 16 in Springfield and the Enfield 12.
SPRINGFIELD – Two Massachusetts and six Connecticut movie theaters owned by Rave Cinemas would be acquired by Cinemark USA Inc. under a 32-theater, $240 million deal now under federal review.
The regional theaters involved in the 12-state package – including the Eastfield Mall 16, West Springfield 15 and Enfield 12 – were sold by National Amusements Inc. of Norwood to Rave Cinemas LLC of Dallas in 2009.
Cinemark USA of Plano, Texas, is the country’s third-largest movie theater chain. It operates 461 theaters with 5,207 screens in North and South America, including the Cinemark at the Hampshire Mall in Hadley, its sole theater in New England.
“The acquisition of these high quality assets will further enhance Cinemark’s diversified domestic footprint, including the expansion of our presence in the New England market,” said Cinemark CEO Timothy Warner in a statement at the start of the acquisition process.
Rave Cinemas recently sold 10 of its movie houses to AMC Theatres of Kansas City, Mo., the second-largest theater chain in the U.S., and 16 theaters to Carmike Cinemas of Columbus, Ga., the country’s fourth-largest theater chain.
Founded in 1999, Rave Cinemas operated 62 theaters with 939 screens across 21 states at its peak in 2011 when it was the sixth-largest movie theater chain in the U.S. It introduced digital projection into its Massachusetts and Connecticut theaters in 2010.
The sale to Cinemark involves 32 theaters with a total of 483 screens, including seven IMAX screens. More than a third of the 483 screens are 3D-capable.
The transition date for the area theaters rests with the U.S. Department of Justice, which has regulatory approval over the sale, according to Daniel DiGiacomo, director of marketing at Rave Cinemas.
A renaming of the Massachusetts and Connecticut theaters following the approved sale has not yet announced, he said.
“It has not been determined whether the Rave brand will remain under the Cinemark umbrella,” DiGiacomo said.