Russian Theaters Purchased by Shari Redstone from Her Family's National Amusements

All set to take full control of her very own pet project, Shari Redstone has joined hands with a private equity firm in order to buy a Russian movie theater chain from National Amusements Inc., a firm owned by her family.

Terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed yet by any of the parties involved.

The takeover of the Rising Star Media group, which has operations across Moscow and St. Petersburg, has come right as National Amusements, which is operated jointly by Shari Redstone and her father, Sumner Redstone, has been putting theaters up for sale to help pay debts.

Recently, National Amusements had struck a deal to sell 35 of its US theaters, including the Bridge Cinema de Lux multiplex in Los Angeles, to Texas-based Rave Cinemas. Last fall as well, Mr. Redstone had sold about $1 Billion in stock in two media companies which are under his control, Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp. Funds from the purchases are being put into pulling down National's $1.46 Billion debt.

Post the sale of the Russian theaters, National Amusements will not be selling off any other assets. "We're in really good shape", Shari Redstone said.