News Clippings

M Pictures Entertainment's shareholders on Thursday vetoed the acquistions of Pacific Marketing and Entertainment Group and Media Network Retail on grounds that their company's proposed subscription price of Bt2.75 was higher than the market price.

M Pictures Entertainment's stock closed at Bt2.34 on Thursday and sank to Bt2.06 at yesterday's close.

Shareholders also rejected raising the company's registered capital for the acquisitions.

S u w i t Wannasirisook, chief financial officer of M Pictures Entertainment, said yesterday that the company had planned to offer new common shares to existing shareholders at one new share-priced at Bt2.75-for every three shares held.

Shareholders said it would be better to buy shares on the stock market.

M Pictures, a film-distribution unit of Major Cineplex Group, said in July it would take over all of Media Network Retail and all of its affiliate, Pacific Marketing and Entertainment Group.

Media Network Retail operates more than 150 VCD/DVD stores nationwide.

The merger would allow Major Cineplex Group, which has a 75-per-cent share of the local cinema industry, to dominate the film business both upstream and downstream.

The group's businesses run from importing films and staging theatrical productions to distributing and retailing VCD/DVDs.

The acquisition of both units were to have been made through a share swap of 162.8 million new common shares that M Pictures was planning to issue to raised its registered capital.

Under the deal, M Pictures would have acquired 4 million common shares at Bt75.40 apiece, representing 100 per cent of Media Network Retail shares, and 100 per cent of Pacific Marketing and Entertainment Group's shares at Bt39.50 apiece from Major Cineplex and other shareholders.

Major Cineplex owns 41 per cent of M Pictures and 97 per cent of Pacific Marketing and Entertainment Group. The deal would have given it 45 per cent of M Pictures.

The Nation
Issued date 06 September 2008