MMCinemas was a cineplex company based in

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

, Mexico. It operated 87 cineplexes, primarily in northern Mexico, with more than 900 screens at the time of its merger with

Cinemex Cinemex (official name: Cadena Mexicana de Exhibición S.A. de C.V.) is a Mexican chain of cinemas. It operates multiplexes in cities such as Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Toluca, Cd. Juarez, Leon, Tijuana, Mexicali, Puebla and other M ...

in 2008.

History

MMCinemas was established in 1981 by

Grupo Multimedios Grupo Firmas Globales (Legally registered as Multimedios S.A. de C.V.) is a Mexican media conglomerate with holdings in broadcast television, radio, publishing and entertainment. The company is headquartered in Monterrey. History Multimedios w ...

, a Monterrey-based broadcasting company, when the company opened its first movie theater in that city. By 1994, the chain owned 14 multiplexes with a total of 47 screens in northern Mexico. In 2006, Multimedios sold MMCinemas to Latin America Movie Theatres (LAMT), a joint venture of private equity firm Southern Cross Group and

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...

. In February 2008, Germán Larrea Mota Velasco, owner of

Grupo México Grupo México is a Mexican conglomerate that operates through the following divisions: Mining (Minera Mexico), Transportation (Ferromex, GMxT), Infrastructure and Fundacion Grupo Mexico. Founded in 1978, Grupo México became a significant player ...

, reached an agreement to acquire 80 percent of LAMT through holding company Entretenimiento GM de México. At the time, MMCinemas operated 50 cineplexes with 804 screens in 22 states, primarily

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

and

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

, but with little presence in the Mexico City metropolitan area. Nine months later, Entretenimiento GM purchased the 493 screens of

from

AMC Entertainment AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (doing business as AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC) is an American movie theater chain founded in Kansas City, Missouri, and now headquartered ...

in a $315 million transaction that gave the company access to the Mexico City market. The combination would have a market share of more than 30 percent, second only to

Cinépolis Cinépolis is a Mexico-based international movie theater chain. Its name means ''City of Cinema'' and its slogan is ''La Capital del Cine'' (). Cinépolis was the biggest cineplex chain in Mexico, with 427 theaters in 97 cities. It is also th ...

. Most MMCinemas locations were converted to the Cinemex brand.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Former MMCinemas website (in Spanish)
Cinema chains in Mexico 1981 establishments in Mexico Defunct companies of Mexico