Terra Firma, the UK buy-out firm run by Guy Hands, is putting the Odeon & UCI cinema chain up for sale in a deal likely to be valued at between £700m and £1bn, reports the FT. Hands is expected to appoint Bank of America Merrill Lynch to run the auction. The bank has also been asked to examine the option of refinancing the company with new debt of about £600m. BC Partners, the UK-based private equity firm, has held talks with Terra Firma over the sale of Europe’s largest cinema group, which owns more than 200 cinemas and 1,850 screens across the UK and Europe. Odeon & UCI generated pre-tax earnings of £80m in 2009. Rival UK-based cinema operator Vue Entertainment is another probable bidder but could face competition hurdles to a deal.

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