Cineplex has signed a deal to sell its media division, Cineplex Digital Media (CDM), to Creative Realities Inc. (CRI), a U.S.-based digital signage solutions company.

CRI will acquire all the issued and outstanding common shares of CDM for $70 million in cash, subject to customary post-closing adjustments.

As part of the deal, Cineplex will continue to operate as the exclusive ad sales rep for CDM’s digital out-of-home network across Canada, which comprises some 750 screens in 95 shopping centres.

Cineplex says the deal will allow it to “capitalize on a timely opportunity to divest and unlock meaningful value.”

Proceeds from the sale of CDM will “strengthen Cineplex’s balance sheet and provide capital for opportunistic share buybacks, debt reduction and bolster resources for general corporate purposes,” the company said in a news release.

The deal is expected to close in the coming weeks, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

“As we continued to grow CDM, we had said we would remain open to an opportunistic and strategic sale,” said Ellis Jacob, president and CEO of Cineplex, in a statement. Jacob is poised to step down from his role at the end of 2026, after more than 20 years at the helm.

The company reported in its Q2 earnings in August that media segment revenue was up 9.1% year over year, partly on the strength of a jump in DOOH revenue, which increased by 17.8% to $12.5 million from $10.6 million.

This story originally appeared in Media in Canada

Image courtesy of Cineplex