Theater owners refuse shareholders’ pleas to sell

Shareholders in Reading International want the firm to accept a $100 million offer for movie theaters it owns on the Upper East Side and Union Square, according to the New York Post, but the firm has plans of its own. Capstone Equities offered the money for Reading’s Cinema 1, 2 & 3, at 1001 Third Avenue Near 60th Street, and Union Square Theatre, at 100 East 17th Street.

The Upper East Side property, valued at about $45 million, could be redeveloped into an 80,000-square-foot building with retail on the bottom floors, while the landmarked Union Square theater could also be redeveloped with tax credits.

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But Reading won’t accept Capstone’s offer because it wants to secure a reinvestment option of up to 25 percent of the purchase price so that it can have a stake in developing the properties. The firm pulled that exact trick in its deal with the Clarett Group at Place 57. [Post]