InvestKinoProject raises USD40m Russian movie theatre company receives single largest equity investment in the Russian movie theatre industry to date

InvestKinoProject, one of Russia´s most innovative movie theatre and entertainment chain companies, today announces it has received a USD40m equity investment to fund further expansion. Focussed on bringing a high-quality movie and entertainment experience at affordable prices to Russia’s major cities and regions, the investment allows InvestKinoProject to capitalise on the fast-growing Russian movie-going market. Box office returns in Russia are experiencing tremendous growth and have risen 1300% from USD14m in 1996 to USD190m in 2003.

Moscow (PRWEB) February 4, 2004

InvestKinoProject, one of Russia´s most innovative movie and entertainment chain companies, today announces a USD40m investment from Cube Private Equity.

Established in 2000, InvestKinoProject is led by CEO Aleksandr Timofeev. InvestKinoProject is the only entertainment centre operator in Russia to have been awarded the ISO 9001 International Quality Management Standard and senior management are recognised experts in their respective fields.

InvestKinoProject has developed the Kinoplex™ concept, which uses the demand for a top-quality movie experience as the main channel through which to offer additional entertainment options under one roof. These include a choice of screens offering the latest world technology in film projection, a choice of eateries including coffee house, restaurants and disco-bar, internet café, a children’s crèche service, a merchandising shop and concessions - all managed by InvestKinoProject.

Aleksandr Timofeev, CEO of InvestKinoProject, said: “Box office returns in Russia are experiencing tremendous growth. In 2003 they increased by 71% to USD 190m, but this is still well below what a single block buster can make in the US alone. “Titanic” for example made USD600m at the US box office alone. Russians are a nation of movie lovers and our first multi-screen entertainment centre is enjoying great success."

Aleksandr Timofeev added: “We will be replicating the successful formula of our first Moscow Kinoplex™ in major cities and in the Russian regions and this further investment strengthens our expansion programme. The US and European movie makers are already very interested in the Russian market and we expect their interest to keep on growing. This year we will be the first Russian company to sponsor an event at ShoWest in Las Vegas on 22 March, the world’s largest motion picture convention, attracting 5,000 players in the movie industry.”

Christopher van Riet, Executive Director of Cube Private Equity, commented: "We were extremely impressed with InvestKinoProject´s management team and the InvestKinoProject business model from the first day. InvestKinoProject´s experienced management will be able to quickly capitalise on the increasing opportunities in the movie-going and entertainment sectors both in Moscow and major regional cities.”

Potential of the Russian movie market

Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia had enjoyed one of the world’s highest rates of movie attendance (19 visits per year in 1985). Whilst there has been a dramatic growth in Russian box office returns since 1997, they still remain well below what a single blockbuster can make in the US alone.

The closure of many movie theatres due to the removal of state subsidies during the 1990s and the conversion of many movie theatres to other commercial uses, together with the market transformation which Russia experienced in the 90s, has resulted in movie attendance in Russia currently standing at just over one visit per year (1.28 visits per Russian at the beginning of 2003). This compares to 5.8 visits per person per year in the USA, 3.1 in France and 3 in the UK (all for the beginning of 2003).

Severe lack of high-quality movie screens in Russia

At the same time, there is a severe lack of supply of high-quality movie screens in Russia. As of January 2004, only 620 screens in Russia had been refurbished to a high-quality standard (Dolby Surround). This equates to 0.43 screens per 100,000 people in Russia. This can be compared to 12.6 per 100,000 in the USA, 8.9 in France and 5.8 in the UK.

Notes to Editors

About InvestKinoProject

InvestKinoProject is one of Russia’s most innovative movie and entertainment chain companies. Focussed on bringing a high-quality movie and entertainment experience at affordable prices to Russia’s major cities and regions, InvestKinoProject has developed the Kinoplex™ concept. The Kinoplex™ offers an integrated movie and entertainment environment under one roof all managed by InvestKinoProject.

Facilities include a choice of up to 11 screens offering the latest world technology in film projection, a choice of eateries including coffee house, restaurant and disco-bar, merchandising, concessions, internet cafés and free services including a children’s crèche. InvestKinoProject is the only entertainment centre operator in Russia to have been awarded the ISO 9001 Quality Management Standard. InvestKinoProject was founded in 2000 by Aleksandr Timofeev and Vladimir Murov, two Russian businessmen who developed the Kinoplex concept after carefully exploring the trends and potential of the Russian movie market. InvestKinoProject´s senior management are recognised experts in their fields and are led by CEO Aleksandr Timofeev.

About Cube Private Equity

Cube Private Equity is an international private equity group. Led by its founding CEO Christopher Van Riet, Cube Private Equity invests in the U.S., Europe and Russia. Cube Private Equity is a long-term investor with a special focus on the fast-growing sectors of the Russian economy that were previously non-existent or under-developed as such sectors received little resource from the Central Planners of the Soviet Union. Cube Private Equity´s investment of USD40m into InvestKinoProject represents the single largest equity investment in the Russian movie theatre industry to date.

About ISO 9001

InvestKinoProject is the only entertainment centre operator in Russia to have been awarded the ISO 9001 Quality Management Standard. ISO 9001 specifies requirements for a quality management system where an organization needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide product that meets customer and applicable regulatory requirements, and aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable regulatory requirements.

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