SYDNEY - Hoyts Group, Australia's second biggest cinema chain, has been acquired by ID Leisure Ventures, a British Virgin Islands-based investment company owned by Chinese billionaire Sun Xishuang, from Pacific Equity Partners for an undisclosed amount.

Sun Xishuang, founder of Yifang Group in Dalian, is ranked No 149 on Forbes magazine's China rich list with a net worth of around $1.3 billion.

Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed but Pacific Equity Partners (PEP), had valued the cinema chain last year at A$900 million($731 million) while preparing an initial public offer.

"We look forward to the investment and development of Hoyts going forward under the ownership of a new investor, ID Leisure," said Hoyts' recently-appointed CEO, Damian Keogh.

"Hoyts is embarking on a number of exciting opportunities and together with ID Leisure, we will continue to invest in the exceptional customer experience currently offered to 20 million attendees annually," he added.

Fairfax Media understands that ID Leisure will retain Hoyts' management, led by chief executive Keogh and chairman David Kirke, with sources saying that the fund is supportive of their strategy of growing premium formats, reported Sydney Morning Herald.

The deal underlines mainland China's interest in expanding into entertainment overseas.

The 43 cinema chain Hoyts Group has 450 screens and more than 89,000 seats. It also owns the Hoyts Kiosk DVD distribution chain, which is the nation's largest network of DVD and Blue-Ray rental machines, as well as cinema advertising business Val Morgan. In turn, the Val Morgan business extends into other cinema chains.

It is understood Hoyts posted about $550 million in revenue for the latest financial year, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of just over $80 million.

PEP had recently hired Swiss investment bank UBS to help run a dual-track sale or an IPO, but shelved a listing due to volatility in equity markets

The Hoyts deal extends a run of large cinema acquisitions by Chinese entrepreneurs looking to expand globally.

PEP is the last among a string of individuals and firms to have had ownership of Hoyts Group in the last 15 years.

The late Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer's Consolidated Press Holdings had acquired the group in 1999 for $405 million.

In 2005, it was sold to another Packer company, Publishing and Broadcasting, and West Australian Newspapers, with each company taking a 50 per cent stake.

PEP acquired the shares in 2007, just before the financial crisis, in a deal that valued the company at $440 million. Subsequent to which PEP invested in a digital overhaul of the cinema chain, leading to doubling of Hoyts' profits.

New owner Sun has a 6.3 percent stake in Hong Kong-listed Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties as well as a 4.2 percent holding in its subsidiary, Wanda Cinemas.

In May 2012, Dalian Wanda made headlines when it paid almost $US3 billion for the US-based cinema operator AMC Theatres. It also owns various other companies ranging from hotel operators to department stores.

Last month, a private deal was mooted to be imminent after PEP halted plans to float Hoyts on the Australian Stock Exchange, which had been ongoing throughout 2014.

Yang Shuting, a consultant at Horizon Research Consultancy Group, said given the relationships involved, there is probably some tentative link.

"However, given that Sun is only a (small) shareholder of Wanda Cinemas, and the acquisition was made through his own investment company, I think it is implausible to draw definite links to Wanda Cinema," said Yang.

"Australasia is not a particularly important cinema market and Hoyts, with only 43 cinemas in the region, shouldn't be considered a large scale player," he said, reported The Australian.