Private equity firm BGH Capital has thrown its hat into the ring to acquire Village Roadshow.

On Friday, BGH made an unsolicited counter-offer of $4 per share for Village Roadshow. A month ago, Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) had offered to take over the company, a cinema owner and Gold Coast theme parks operator, for $3.90 a share.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, PEP already owns 19% of Village shares after acquiring call options from the controlling group. The Kriby family and chief executive Graham Burke control 40% in the troubled entertainment company, which owns 600 cinemas.

Village Roadshow: Crunch times

Footfall in movie theaters has been declining due to the rising popularity of streaming services such as Netflix. Meanwhile, the company’s shares have fallen to half the value they had in 2014, weighed under by a cash crunch and political battles amongst the company’s top brass. In August, iPic Entertainment, an investment by Village, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Meanwhile, veteran employee and CEO Graham Burke is on his way out of the company.

Going forward

However, the company’s shares have bounced about 20% higher since the date of the offer by PEP.

A committee will now compare and assess the offers from both BGH and PEP. The suitors will be allowed to examine Village’s books as a part of due diligence.

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