A look into PVR's two-decade magical run and the challenges that lies ahead Ajay Bijli confesses it took him six years to get married. “I continued the dialogue hoping she would say yes someday, ” quips PVR’s swash-buckling chairman cum managing director. “It’s the same with M& As. You keep engaged till the seller is emotionally ready.” If successful mergers are like courtships and marriages, an interplay of patience and chemistry, then Bijli took it to heart for almost four years while wooing the Reddy brothers – Kiran and Swaroop, his counterparts at SPI Cinemas – before finally acquiring their thriving multiplex business a fortnight ago. The years of intermittent negotiations have been fraught with political bullying and rivals waiting for the opportune moments to counter. But Bijli’s relentless perseverance, honed after a similarly long negotiations with the DLF family for DT Cinemas, finally paid off. It’s no less than a box office bonanza. PVR — already India’s largest multiplex operator — will get control over the most admired and profitable regional cinema exhibitors in the southern market — the highest per capita movie consumer in India.  It also gets to diversify its content and geographical risks. SPI’s superior Ebitda profile and best-in-its-class occupational ratios of 58% from its diversified offerings — such as the popular Sathyam Cinemas in Chennai or the premium Palazzo, The Cinema, S2 and Es-cape — will have a positive rub-of f on financials. The pro forma combined revenues will be twice that of the nearest competitor, Inox. PVR has been consolidator in most important Mumbai (west) market for Bollywood. South always had its own dynamics but there too they will now gain significant heft and market share to consolidate their bargaining power with content producers and distributors. The Bijlis have struggled to keep the organic pace, with players like SPI — especially in states like Tamil Nadu — having a stronger brand and longer presence. “We were getting secondary or tertiary locations and many lucrative markets and locations were evading us, ” acknowledges Sanjeev Bijli, Ajay’s younger brother and PVR’s dapper joint managing director. “We can now bridge that gap.” The acquisition also gives PVR a ready platform for expansion where multiplex penetration has been historically low — at 14% of total multiplexes in India, despite having 49% of total screens – given the prominence of single screen theatres, adds Rohit Dokania of IDFC Securities. It brings them one step closer to 1, 000-screens-by-2020 too. THE DEFENDERS Leading exhibitors are indeed pushing the envelope to enhance their customer-centric approach. “Through consolidation, both PVR and we are trying to up the game, ” agrees Siddharth Jain, director, Inox Leisure, the country’s second-largest multiplex player. “Both of us are investing in significant capex for improved viewing experiences.” PVR alone has lined up Rs 450-crore capex for next three years, including Rs 25-30 crore for 13 under-construction SPI halls. “We are keen to entertain consumers at every price point – sub-Rs 100-1, 500 per ticket – once she is out of her home for a movie-going experience, ” says Sanjeev. So, on one end of the spectrum will be “aspirational” theatres in smaller towns with tickets as low as Rs 100. “There is no format like this any-where, ” he adds. At the other end are the über luxe cinema-plus experiences of a Directors Cut or Gold Class. PVR is also expanding its digital foray — strategic tie-ups with online booking platforms such as Paytm, BookMyShow (BMS) or Justdial give it a “wider reach with audiences.” Its online sales have already crossed the 50% mark and is growing. As Sanjeev puts it, “Nobody can ignore this anymore.” PVR recently renewed these deals for three years for an aggregate Rs 401 crore, raising aggregate convenience fee forecast by 45% for 2019-21. “The more purchases shift online, there is a whole lot of data we can analyse to understand them better.