Strong Results in Tiger Group’s Pacific Theatres Sale Point to Rebound in Theater Business and Continued Growth in Pro AV Sector
Online auction of equipment from bankrupt chain draws bids from around the world; Tiger now slated to sell similar gear from 10 additional closed Pacific Theatres locations.
Demand from across the theater and professional AV industries drove strong results in Tiger Group‘s February 22 auction of equipment from Pacific Theatres.
The movie chain, formerly one of North America’s largest, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in March 2020 in the wake of Covid-19 lockdowns. Tiger’s globally marketed online auction featured 297 lots of equipment, including projectors, a state-of-the-art LED screen, cinema monitors, servers, amplifiers, media blocks and even popcorn makers, all from an initial group of closed Pacific Theatres locations.
“Ninety-nine percent of those lots were bid upon and sold to theater owners, live event production companies, rental houses and other buyers,” said Jonathan Holiday, Director of Business Development, Tiger Commercial & Industrial. “We had 12,047 views and a total of 5,040 bids, with people from 57 countries watching the event live. The 40 winning bidders hailed primarily from across the United States and Canada, with registrants from as far away as Ukraine and France.”
Sales of this type and size are rare, Holiday explained, and the Pacific Theatres name also enjoys widespread recognition. However, the ongoing recovery of movie theaters clearly was a factor as well. “We had quite a strong influx of theaters that participated in the auction sale, which is great to see,” Holiday said. “These were the ‘survivors’—those operators that managed to come through the difficult period with enough working capital to start positioning for the future.”
Several of these operators bought late-model digital laser projectors. “These are the latest technologies that movie theaters are using for projection,” Holiday noted. “Equipment upgrades certainly were part of the dynamic, underscored by sizable purchases from a major cinema chain in Canada.”
Others—including mission-driven arthouse theaters that draw their support from charitable foundations—had the opportunity to purchase equipment that suited their budget, which would not have been the case with new gear, Holiday said.
Another standout: high-performance audio and speakers. “The amplifiers, processors and other sound equipment on offer were in great condition and performed extremely well thanks to the participation of several audio and speaker users and resellers, ” Holiday said.
Also noteworthy was Tiger’s successful sale of a 2019 Samsung LED screen with audio components. “It was one of just two such LED screens installed in the United States and drew strong interest,” Holiday said.
Tiger Group is now gearing up for the next round of Pacific Theatres equipment sales—thousands of lots from ten closed locations (eight in California and one in each in Chicago and Bethesda, Maryland) with a combined 170-plus screens and gear valued at over $4 million.
“Just as in our initial sale, these auctions will feature top brands like Christie, Dolby, NEC, GDC and QSC, with a great deal of the equipment being late-model and in excellent condition,” Holiday said. “We anticipate strong demand once again and are finalizing the details as we speak.”
Tiger Auctions Professional Cameras, Lenses, Grip, Electric and Gear Accessories from Red Star Pictures
June 2 online sale of over 450 lots of surplus audio video gear features Canon, Panasonic and Sony cameras; Rokinon Xeen and Tokina lenses; and lighting from Arri
Tiger Group geared up to auction surplus equipment from Red Star Pictures, a longstanding supplier of rental lighting, grip and production equipment to the entertainment and live event industry.
The June 2 online auction featured gear surplus to the ongoing operations of Red Star and included digital and film cameras, lenses, lighting, grip, electric, filters, and AV accessories. Equipment was offered in more than 450 lots from top manufacturers including Arri, Black Magic, Canon, Moviecam, Panasonic, Rokinon Tiffen, Xeen, and Sony.
Specifically, over 50 digital and movie cameras from Arri Alexa, Canon and Panasonic, as well as a large quantity of LED lighting from Arri, Kino and LTM were up for bid. A variety of camera accessories, and grip and electric gear were offered as well.
“We are extremely pleased to have been selected by Red Star Pictures to assist in managing their surplus gear,” said Jonathan Holiday, Director of Business Development, Tiger Commercial & Industrial. “Red Star has enjoyed exponential growth in building its rental business through acquisitions over the past five years and by offering a high level of service to all its valued customers in the industry. This sale offers an excellent mix of gear and a great opportunity to purchase from a well-established, quality rental company.”
Tiger Group, Plant & Machinery Inc. and AuctionSection.com Offer Assets, Including Real Estate, from Metal Fabricator Gulfex
In a January 26 live onsite w/webcast auction, Plant & Machinery, Inc. and Tiger Group offered machinery and equipment from the South Houston facilities of metal-fabricator Gulfex—formerly a top manufacturer of high-quality, custom pressure vessels and towers used in the oil and gas, chemical and petrochemical industries.
Highlights of the auctions include:
- Large-capacity sub-arc manipulators
- A huge selection of heavy-duty tank turning roll sets
- A large quantity of Lincoln & Miller welders
- Work-in-process and raw materials
- Bidders can also acquire rolling stock and material-handling equipment—a total of seven forklifts and two flatbed trucks—as well as various other warehouse and office assets formerly owned by Gulfex.
Tiger and Plant & Machinery Inc. also sold Gulfex’s IP. The package included all technical electronic documents utilized by Gulfex as well as electronic records of completed jobs since 2003; Codeware Compress calculations; AutoCAD drawings; data books; QA/QC manuals; welding procedures; inspection procedures; document-control procedures and forms; and estimating forms.
In addition, sale partner AuctionSection.com offered three former Gulfex real estate parcels/facilities in South Houston—two on Louisiana Street and one on State Street—in online-only events on January 25. These sales include assets such as two 100-ton cranes: two 50-ton hoists on each bridge, with a 10-ton speed hook on each bridge and a 28-foot under hook.
“We are excited to bring to market such an expansive mix of large capacity vessel fabricating equipment plus the industrial real estate with 100-ton crane capacities,” noted Ron Moore, President, Plant & Machinery, Inc.
Founded in 1966, Gulfex consistently provided high-quality products to several major oil and gas and petrochemical companies, not just in the Gulf Coast but across the globe. “This live onsite and webcast auction is an extraordinary opportunity for manufacturers serving these sectors to expand their operations by acquiring specialty M&E at liquidation values,” said George Laidlaw, a Director of Business Development for Tiger’s Commercial & Industrial division.
Tiger Group and Liquidity Services Liquidate Well Production, Test Equipment and Other Oil-and Gas-Sector Assets in Online Auction
Buyers in the quickly rebounding oil-and-gas sector acquired well production, test equipment and other assets in a timed, online auction by Tiger Group and Liquidity Services.
Bidding on the diverse array of assets from PPS Operators, LLC, opened on Thursday, February 10, at 10:30 a.m., and closed on Thursday, February 17, at 10:30 a.m. (ET).
Located in a strategic basin in Amity, Pennsylvania, the equipment on offer included a massive lot of pipe, valves, flanges and fittings—more than 6,000 items in total and more than 20,000 feet of 15,000 PSI flowline and pup joints.
Along with portable flare trailers and 500bbl frac tanks, the sale included line heaters rated at 10,000 PSI; separators; scrubbers, plug catchers and filters; and choke manifolds
Rolling stock assets included trailers and a JLG Telehandler.
“Traditionally, many companies have rented the specialized equipment needed for well production and testing, but with surging energy demand and an ongoing supply-chain crisis, now is an excellent time to acquire such assets at auction,” said Chad Farrell, Managing Director, Tiger Commercial & Industrial.
For asset photos, descriptions, bidding and other information, visit
Sold Tiger.com.