Warren sells operating theaters to Regal Entertainment Group

Regal Entertainment Group is expanding its holdings in Oklahoma by acquiring operating Warren Theatres here, but the deal doesn’t include two new theaters the latter has agreed to build in Midwest City and north Oklahoma City.

Robert Coleman, Midwest City’s economic development director, said Friday he’d only learned of Warren Theatres’ decision to sell its operations in Broken Arrow and Moore about a day before the sale was announced.

That led city officials to do some checking.

“We knew there were some deals in the works. We didn’t know it was this widespread,” Coleman said.

“But ... we’ve been assured by Warren it won’t affect our deal,” he continued. “So, we are going to keep on a course of business as usual, with great expectations.”

“Things seem to be going smoothly, at this point,” Coleman said.

Attempts to reach the developer working on the Eastern Ridge project in north Oklahoma City, where another Warren Theatres is planned, were unsuccessful on Friday.

It will be part of a 110-acre commercial and office development at Kilpatrick Turnpike and Eastern Avenue. Zoning for the project was approved by the Oklahoma City Council in late March.

Regal Entertainment Group said in its acquisitions announcement released Friday that its purchase of seven theaters operated by Warren Theaters involves five locations in Kansas and two it operates in Broken Arrow and in Moore. The locations involved in the sale operate a total of 93 screens.

The publicly-traded company already owns three theater complexes in the state: The Regal Bartlesville Movies Stadium 8, at Washington Park Mall; the Regal Spotlight Stadium 14 in Norman; and the Regal Promenade Palace Stadium 12 in the Tulsa Promenade.

Leader of the pack

Regal’s CEO said as part of the announcement the company is excited to build on its existing Oklahoma operations, noting in particular that the Warren Theatres in Moore was the 17th-highest grossing theater in the United States in 2016.

“Warren Theatres has become the market leader in both Wichita and Oklahoma City by providing superior customer service and a variety of upscale amenities, including reclining seats, largeformat screens and a wide array of food and beverage options,” Amy Miles, Regal’s CEO, stated in a news release.

A purchase price was not disclosed. As of September, Regal operated a chain of theaters that has 7,310 screens in 565 theaters in 42 states, along with Guam, Saipan, American Samoa and the District of Columbia.

Regal Entertainment Group is a publicly traded company. The Anschutz Corp., which owns the parent company of The

Oklahoman, holds 69 percent of the voting power in the Regal Entertainment Group, according to a proxy filing the movie theater company made with the SEC in April.

In Regal’s release, Bill Warren, the founder and president of Warren Theatres, said he opted to sell to Regal Entertainment Group because of its high standards of quality showmanship and its outstanding customer service.

“I know our moviegoing guests and our 1,400 cast members will be in great hands with Regal,” Warren is quoted as saying.

An attempt on Friday to reach Warren for additional comment was not successful.

In Midwest City, the planned Warren Theatres will anchor the second phase of a new $60 million retail center called the Sooner Rose Shopping Center.

The center, on the northeast corner of SE 15 and Sooner Road, is being built on about 50 acres of mostly rural land.

Warren previously had said the Midwest City project involves the firm’s most luxurious design.

Besides auditoriums for each of the screens, Warren had said the theater will include four adult balconies and will feature the same upscale finishes seen in other Warren projects, including granite, marble, hand-painted murals, neon lighting, sculpted ceilings and terrazzo floors.

Midwest City and Sooner Rose’s developer, Sooner Investment Group, have said they plan for the theater and other associated retail projects, including restaurants on SE 15, to open sometime during the summer of 2018.

Two other retailers, a 65,000-squarefoot Academy Sports + Outdoors and a 55,000-square-foot Hobby Lobby, opened at the Sooner Rose site in October.