Shamrock To Buy Screenvision from ITV and Technicolor

Shamrock Capital has agreed to buy a majority of Screenvision, a provider of cinema advertising.

The sellers are ITV Plc and Technicolor, which had each owned 50%. ITV is selling all of its holding in the deal while Technicolor will retain “just shy of 20%,” says Steve Royer, a Shamrock managing director. Shamrock will end up owning 60% while Carmike Cinemas will have the rest, Royer says.

ITV will receive $80 million for its holding while Technicolor will get $60 million, according to separate statements from the companies.

City National Bank and BofA Merrill Lynch are providing debt financing. The deal is expected to close in about a month.

New York-based Screenvision provides the advertisements that appear on screens before the movie begins. The company also offers in-lobby promotions and integrated marketing programs to national, regional and local advertisers. The Screenvision cinema advertising network comprises more than 15,000 screens in 2,500 theater locations across all 50 states and 93% of local media markets nationwide. Royer declined to provide revenues for Screenvision. No job cuts or management changes are expected.

“We’re excited,” Royer says. “This is a company that we have been following for a long time. We love cinema advertising. It’s a captive audience and a highly measurable medium.”

The sale was not an auction. Shamrock knew Screenvision was not core for Technicolor or ITV and the PE shop reached out to the sellers in the spring, Royer says. “There were two public companies and it was a complex deal,” he says. “It took a while.”

Technicolor will continue to provide film and digital services to Screenvision, which has also entered into an amended exhibitor agreement with Carmike. In a separate statement, Carmike says it will receive a $30 million cash payment in January, in addition to regular periodic payments.

Shamrock, a Los Angeles-based PE shop, invests in media, entertainment and communication. The Screenvision investment comes from its second fund, Shamrock Capital Growth Fund II, which raised $311 million in 2006.