NEW YORK — The Justice Department asked a court Monday to block a planned merger of the nation’s only two large cinema on-screen advertising companies, saying consumers might face higher prices at theaters if a merger is carried out. The businesses generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
The department filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court against Centennial-based National CineMedia Inc. plans to acquire Screenvision LLC for $375 million.
In a release, Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said the merger was “a bad idea for movie theaters, advertisers and consumers.”
In a release, Kurt Hall, NCM chairman and chief executive officer, said: “I am obviously very disappointed that the DOJ did not see the benefits of the new combined company to our advertising clients and their agencies and our exhibitor partners.”
