On 30 September 2016, Kinepolis Group sold the four Belgian Utopolis cinemas in Aarschot, Lommel, Mechelen, and Turnhout to the French group UGC.
On 9 November 2015, Kinepolis Group reached an agreement with the shareholders of Utopia SA for the takeover of the Utopolis group. The takeover of the cinemas in Belgium remained subject to the approval of the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA).
On 25 March 2016, the BCA approved the acquisition of the Belgian Utopolis cinemas on the condition that the complexes in Mechelen and Aarschot were resold with a view to their further exploitation. Following this decision, on 14 April 2016, Kinepolis Group took over the Belgian Utopolis cinemas. Since then, these cinemas have continued to operate in accordance with the conditions imposed by the BCA. Kinepolis then opted to sell all Belgian Utopolis activities taking into account the conditions imposed by the BCA and the interest shown by potential buyers. The sale of the four Belgian Utopolis complexes to UGC has an enterprise value of 36.2 million euros.
Eddy Duquenne, CEO of Kinepolis Group: 'It's no secret that we would have preferred to add the four Belgian cinemas to our network, but I am sure that Utopolis Aarschot, Lommel, Mechelen, and Turnhout will enjoy a promising future under the auspices of UGC. I wish them every success in that regard.'