More than 40 cinemas in the UK were under new ownership today after the latest deal to transform the industry.

The private equity firm Blackstone has bought the UK assets of the French group UGC in a move that will create the second largest operator of British cinemas.

Blackstone made the purchase through its Cineworld subsidiary, which runs nearly 400 screens after acquiring Cine-UK for £120m in September.

UGC operated 408 screens in 42 cinemas at locations including Hull, Birmingham, Enfield, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Glasgow and Cardiff. No price tag was put on the deal but media reports estimated it to be worth around £200m.

Lawrence Guffey, a senior managing director of Blackstone, said: "This latest transaction re-affirms our commitment to the UK cinema market, which we continue to believe offers attractive growth prospects."

UGC entered the UK market in 1999 with the acquisition of Virgin Cinemas, in a deal worth £210m. One of its key aims was to promote European films, which have not historically enjoyed a high profile in a UK market dominated by American movies.

The move today follows another big shake-up of the industry, earlier this year, when Terra Firma - the investment vehicle of the financier Guy Hands - snapped up the Odeon and United Cinema International chains.

The deals, worth a combined £586m, made Mr Hands's group the biggest force in the sector.

The only large UK operator not to change hands this year is Vue Entertainment, which has slipped to become the third-largest group in the industry. Vue, which runs 40 cinemas with 384 screens, was formed in May last year by the acquisition of Warner Village Cinemas by SBC International Cinemas.