LITH theater to get new owners
LAKE IN THE HILLS – Summer blockbuster movies, such as the latest Iron Man, Shrek, Toy Story and Twilight sequels, will come to the Lake in the Hills 12 theater this year, as they have the past 13 years.
For the first time, though, the local cinema will have a new parent company watching its books.
Kerasotes Showplace Theatres, which opened the Lake in the Hills 12 in June 1997, said earlier this week that it had come to an agreement to sell all but three of its 96 theaters to AMC Entertainment Inc.
Lake in the Hills 12 will be the first AMC theater in McHenry County – the nearest AMC is the South Barrington 30.
“Our team has delivered a consistent, high quality experience for customers, and we have appreciated Providence [Equity Partners’] partnership over the last six years in helping Kerasotes grow into the sixth largest motion picture exhibition company in North America,” Kerasotes CEO Tony Kerasotes said in a news release announcing the deal.
The Lake in the Hills theater has 49 employees, all of whom are expected to keep their jobs, Kerasotes
Chief Financial Office Jim DeBruzzi said. The only real change, DeBruzzi said, would be the owners’ name.
AMC Vice President of Corporate Communications Sun Dee Larson said the company would not comment on the future of Kerasotes properties because the financial transaction was pending.
In the news release, though, AMC CEO and President Gerry Lopez said the company was excited to make the acquisition.
“Combining Kerasotes’ highly regarded assets and operations with our own is a natural way for us to continue re-defining the future of our industry,” Lopez said.
Kerasotes was founded by Gus Kerasotes in 1909, when he opened a single nickelodeon in Springfield.
It is now a third-generation family business that has grown to total 973 screens in 10 states – most in the Midwest.
AMC, meanwhile, has its own long history that traces back to three brothers in Kansas City, Mo., who bought the Regent Theater in 1920.
DeBruzzi said the family atmosphere of both companies was prevalent in the industry.
“The industry as a whole is like that; in various ways, [AMC’s] business has been family owned along the way,” he said. “I’ve been in the industry since 1999 and I’ve found it to be an incredibly common thing. Somehow they all trace back to these kind of family-owned businesses.”
Tony Kerasotes and his brother, Dean, will continue to own and operate the new ICON concept theaters in Chicago and Minneapolis as part of the deal, as well as a theater in Secaucus, N.J.
“We expect these theatres will be a strong addition to the AMC theatre circuit, and look forward to successfully completing the transaction with AMC and to beginning our next chapter,” Tony Kerasotes said.
Lopez said AMC would be a good steward of the properties going forward.
“With almost 200 years in the exhibition business between us, our collective experiences and our complementary geographic footprints will allow us to maintain the reputation for excellence and leadership that is part of each company’s culture,” Lopez said.
