Carmike Cinemas Inc. and Digital Cinema Destinations Corp. (Digiplex) announced last week that Carmike will be acquiring Digiplex in a stock-for-stock deal.

Founded in 2010, Digiplex has 20 locations in seven states around the country, which will bring Carmike up to 280 locations in 41 states. The press release mentions that Digiplex consists of 21 locations, but only 20 are listed on their web site and that list matches the 20 we have in our records. We presume that the "missing" location is the Lansing Cinema 8  Lansing, Illinois, which Digiplex announced in April that it will be acquiring the theater. Each Digiplex share will be traded for 0.1777 shares (give or take) of Carmike stock.

The obligatory quotes from the heads of each company appear below:

Carmike’s President and Chief Executive Officer David Passman stated, “Carmike strives to be an innovator in the exhibition industry, and we believe the addition of the Digiplex circuit will further enhance those efforts. Since its founding less than 4 years ago, Digiplex has been building a circuit of quality theatres based in leading markets. The circuit is a very complementary fit to Carmike and the acquisition enables us to add 4 new states: Arizona, Connecticut, Maryland and New Hampshire, to our expanding geographic footprint.

“Along with its circuit expansion via opportunistic acquisitions, Digiplex has built an industry leading alternative programming business, generating approximately 5% of admissions revenue, a significantly higher percentage than their larger peers. This transaction allows us to combine resources as we grow together, and we could not be more pleased to welcome Digiplex to our expanding theatre network.”

Digiplex Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder Bud Mayo commented, “We view this transaction as a complementary win-win for both organizations. Digiplex holders will benefit by receiving stock in one of the industry-leading exhibitors. David Passman, his fellow senior executives and their customer-centric, theatre-level teams have together orchestrated a fantastic, multi-year turnaround – both operationally and financially.”

The press release does not mention a timeframe for the culmination of the deal, but such transactions must clear regulatory and other approvals before they are finalized. If you have Digiplex gift cards, or are thinking of buying some, keep an eye on announcements for how the transition will happen so that you have a chance to redeem them before it's too late.

Source: Carmike/Digiplex Press Release