Kieft-Group to close VPF deal with XDC and FTT - 150 Digital Screens in Germany, Switzerland and Czech Republic

http://www.digitalcinemainfo.com/xdc_05_04_10.php

May 4, 2010

Source: XDC

As the first circuit in the German-speaking countries Kieft & Kieft + Partner group enters into a VPF agreement to deploy 150 digital screens in Germany, Switzerland and Czech Republic.

For several years already, VPF has been an important topic when it comes to a digital rollout in cinemas. Especially in Germany, however, the VPF train hardly gained momentum. Although XDC managed to surpass the threshold of 100 committed screens, none of the large German cinema circuits opted for a VPF solution with a third party financing partner for the time being. Now, Kieft & Kieft + Partner group has decided in favour of this very model as the first group acting on a national and international scale.

For Serge Plasch, CEO of XDC, these latest developments are very positive: „ Of course, we are delighted that one of the large cinema circuits in Germany and Switzerland now finally is among our partners as we already succeeded in entering into agreements with large groups in other European countries as e. g. in Austria and Portugal."

The decision in favour of XDC was partly boosted by the fact that FTT had already installed digital cinema equipment including 3D at several sites of Kieft group e.g. in Hildesheim, Iserlohn, Schwerin as well as Prague, Plzen and Lugano last year.

Heiner Kieft, Managing Director of Kieft & Kieft + Partner group, said: "The successful completion of our testing phase and the smooth co-operation with FTT at that time were definitely crucial for our decision in favour of FTT / XDC."

Thomas Rüttgers, FTT's Chairman of the Board of Management, is also optimistic about continuing this co-operation: "We think that we have put together a good service package for the digital age, and we are of course very pleased that we could convince another group of our service qualities in the long term."

The starting signal for the digital rollout will be given in the fourth quarter of 2010. In this context, Christie projectors of the new Solaria series, XDC Solo G3 servers as well as XDC's Theatre Management system will be installed.