The sale of CGR cinemas canceled, its leaders thanked

Back to square one for the Circuit Georges Raymond – CGR Cinémas, today – the second largest French network of cinemas in terms of number of screens. According to our information confirming that of “Boxoffice Pro”, the owners – the sons, Jean-Luc and Charles Raymond, of the former jeweler watchmaker Georges Raymond, who founded the company in 1966 – have canceled the sales process which seemed to be accelerating. They did not consider the purchase price sufficient after several hesitations and meetings last weekend.

The Raymond brothers, who decided to hand over the management of the company last spring, have in the same movement decided to thank all the management of this chain of 74 establishments (700 rooms), report the media Box Office Mojo and Ecran Total: Managing Director Jocelyn Bouyssy, Financial Director Jean-Charles Gau, Human Resources Director Clément Foussal de Belerd and Development Director Robert Laborie. The management did not respond to our requests.

Real estate component

According to our information, the maximum price offered by interested parties was around 500 million euros, but perhaps less. And this while sellers were waiting for “at least the minimum of 500 million”, explains a connoisseur. In April 2022, the group based in La Rochelle which generates around 300 million in turnover was valued at 1 billion. But a month later, the content of the cl***ified ad had changed a little: the hotels and restaurants, which weigh a quarter of the income, had left the scope of the transaction. The shareholders therefore expected cinemas, the distribution company Apollo Films and the immersive projection system ICE Theaters rather between 500 and 700 million euros.

Many people have studied the file. Several funds such as Eurazeo, Aermont (the fund of the former boss of Unibail Léon Bressler) or Montefiore were studying a transaction, particularly for the real estate ***ets of the cinemas. Xavier Niel and Pierre-Antoine Capton, co-founders of Mediawan, would also have been in the running – but not under the Mediawan banner, it seems.

A better situation

When the group was first put on sale, the situation in theaters was much more critical than today. First devastated by the health crisis, the sector eventually got over it. Some point to the good reputation of the general manager, Jocelyn Bouyssy, in the sector.

Others note that CGR, very present in the South-West of the country, has focused on “big” American films and been less present on auteur films with commercial potential, of the Palme d’or type of Cannes, and that this would have led to market share losses. Perhaps an element to confirm and take into account if the sales process restarts.