Private equity firm Terra Firma founded by Guy Hands is reportedly in talks with Wanda-backed AMC Entertainment Holdings to sell the Odeon cinema chain for £1 billion ($1.31 billion).

Terra Firm Capital Partners, which owns Odeon and UCI Cinema Groups, is allegedly in advanced talks2 with AMC, which was acquired by China's richest man Wang Jianlin for $2.6 billion in 2012, the City AM reported.

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An announcement of the sale is expected tobe made this week, Sky News revealed, although some sources said that Odeon is still in an auction process.

Other suitors include Belgian chain Kinepolis and Mexican movie theatres Cinepolis. Since the deal is not closed yet, other interested parties may swoop in and post a higher offer.

Both the Terra Firma Capital Partners and AMC have refused to comment on the report.

The sale of the Odeon and UCI Cinemas Group was initially announced in February, and Dalian's alleged interest was reported in October. The Chinese conglomerate, however, brushed off rumors in the following month, saying it had "no intentions" of purchasing the cinema chain.

Odeon and UCI Cinemas Group were separately acquired by Guy Hands for £566 million (around $740) and £310 million (estimated $405.5 million), respectively, in 2004 and merged into one entity. Terra Firma then looked to offload the merged business in 2011 and 2013, but scrapped the sale, the Telegraph reported.

The company is operating 243 cinemas with 2,238 screens across Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.

TagsTerra Firma, Guy Hands, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc, wang jianlin, cinema chains, Odeon, UCI Cinema Groups