Inox embarks upon an expansion plan

Enthused with the return of film buffs to the cinema theatres, entertainment major Inox group has embarked upon an expansion plan to invest Rs 500 crore on developing and acquiring around 50 properties across India in the next five years.

At least Rs 100 crore would be invested annually on acquiring around 10 new properties each year, a company official said.

The BSE share price of Inox Leisure Ltd, which runs the group's entertainment business, closed 4.22 per cent up at Rs 74.10 on January 11, 2010 Monday.

With the entertainment sector showing signs of robust growth, the company will invest around Rs 10-12 crore per screen every year. The company would be funding this expansion plan from debt and internal accruals. Inox would be focusing on cities such as Ahmedabad, Jodhpur, Bhopal, Mangalore, Coimbatore, Kanpur, Hubli, Vishakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar.