Inox Leisure zooms 15% on Amazon India's stake buy buzz

Shares of Inox Leisure soared 15 per cent to Rs 347.50 on the BSE in the intra-day trade on Tuesday on reports that Amazon is potentially looking to buy stake in the Indian film and media business. The stock price of Inox Leisure hit its highest level since January 2021.

At 12:56 pm, the stock was trading 6 per cent higher at Rs 320 on the back of an over 10-fold jump in trading volumes. A combined 8.6 million equity shares, representing 7 per cent of total equity of the company, had changed hands on the counter on the NSE and BSE till the time of writing of this report. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.50 per cent at 52,603 points.

"Amazon.com Inc's India arm is in talks with several domestic players in film and media distribution including cinema chain Inox Leisure Ltd for a potential stake," the Indian Express newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing sources. CLICK HERE FOR MORE

Inox, however, said the report was "factually incorrect" and there were no discussions between the company and Amazon India.

"There are no discussions taking place between INOX Leisure Limited and Amazon, nor were there any such discussions in the past," Inox Leisure clarified in an exchange filing.

Under the circumstances, the said news item published on various platforms of Indian Express dated July 2, 2021, is factually incorrect, the company said. CLICK HERE FOR PRESS RELEASE.

Meanwhile, the board of directors of Inox Leisure is scheduled to meet on August 3, 2021 to consider and approve unaudited financial results of the company for the quarter ended 30th June, 2021 (Q1FY22).

Inox Leisure Limited is amongst India’s largest multiplex chains with 153 multiplexes and 648 screens in 69 cities. The financial year 2020-21 (FY21) witnessed severe impact of Covid-19 on revenues, Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), profit after tax and footfalls. The company reported total operational revenue of Rs 148 crore, Ebitda loss of Rs 204 and net loss of Rs 257 crore during the fiscal.

While announcing the FY21 results on April 29, Inox Leisure’s management had said that constant constructive engagement was going on with all stakeholders, including producers & studios, mall developers, Government authorities, media and consumers.

"With a massive lineup of great quality content in Hindi, English and other Indian languages, The company expects a robust recovery once pandemic subsides and Government’s vaccination drive achieves desired target. The company has chalked out an entirely revamped F&B road map including tie-ups with online food ordering platforms," the management had said.