(Reuters) - AMC Entertainment Holdings (N:AMC) will acquire Carmike Cinemas Inc (O:CKEC) in a deal valued at about $1.1 billion (£776.67 million), including debt, making the combined company the largest U.S. theatre chain.
Chinese property and investment firm Dalian Wanda Group had acquired AMC Entertainment for $2.6 billion in 2012.
The deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions of U.S. companies and assets by Chinese firms.
Chinese companies have been aggressively splurging on foreign acquisitions to sidestep slowing domestic growth. Chinese firms spent more than $100 billion on overseas acquisitions in 2015, the most ever.
In February ChemChina agreed to buy Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta AG (VX:SYNN) for $43 billion.
AMC will pay $30 per share in cash to buy all of Carmike's outstanding shares, which represents a premium of about 19.5 percent to Carmike's Thursday's close.
The transaction will be funded through a combination of existing liquidity, including cash on hand, and incremental debt. The debt financing commitment is being provided by Citigroup (NYSE:C) Global Markets Inc [CNKCHC.UL].
Dalian Wanda Group also agreed to acquire a majority stake in Legendary Entertainment earlier this year, valuing the U.S. movie studio company at between $3 billion and $4 billion.
AMC, the second-largest movie theatre chain in North America, currently has 387 locations and 5,426 screens while Carmike has 276 theaters with 2,954 screens in 41 states.