Billionaire Charles Cohen had to sell his British arthouse cinema chain Curzon to the U.S. private equity firm Fortress Investment Group for an undisclosed sum.
Curzon’s operations include 16 cinemas across the U.K. as well as a film distribution company and an online streaming service. It has been owned by Cohen’s distribution and production company Cohen Media Group since December 2019.
“Curzon is an iconic film company, with global recognition for its long legacy of releasing and connecting independent and critically acclaimed films to U.K. audiences,” Allison Swayze, managing director at Fortress, said Tuesday in a statement. “We’re pleased to acquire Curzon, and bring our support to the company’s dedicated team.”
The acquisition will preserve the jobs of more than 350 employees, Swayze added, while helping “Curzon continue to offer film fans a range of independent and blockbuster movies both in cinema and at home.”
Fortress said it will support Curzon’s near-term plans, which include expanding its network of cinemas. In recent years, the chain had already expanded to new locations in Hoxton, Camden, Kingston-upon-Thames and Canterbury.
Curzon was established 1934, when entrepreneur Harold Wingate opened his first cinema in London’s Mayfair, which is still in operation today. Over the years, Curzon became known for importing and screening some of the first foreign language films in the U.K.
Curzon was put up for auction after Cohen had defaulted on a $534 million loan from Fortress. A New York state supreme court judge ruled in August that the mogul’s real estate assets should be auctioned to recoup at least part of the loans. Cohen’s legal representatives had been arguing that the parties had earlier reached an agreement to restructure the debt.
Fortress declined to comment on the lawsuit. Cohen Media did not immediately respond to an emailed request for a comment.
Cohen joined his family’s real estate business, Cohen Brothers Realty, in 1979, and later bought out his father and uncle. He made the bulk of his fortune by acquiring high end office buildings in New York City and design centers in several cities. But the firm experienced a steep drop in rent collections during the pandemic that saw it fall behind in its debt payments.
Fortress, which was founded in 1998, has about $48 billion in assets under management. Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala investment arm completed its $3 billion purchase of a majority stake in Fortress from Japan’s SoftBank in May.