UA Theaters (established in 1924) has its roots in the movie studio of the same name founded by Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, and D. W. Griffith, but legally has always been separate from it.
The company became the nation's largest owner of movie theaters, with 2,050 screens and later sold it in 1986 to John Malone's Tele-communications Inc. for cash, TCI stock.
Then on February 19, 1992, TCI sold the theater chain in a leveraged buyout led by Merrill Lynch Capital Partners Inc and UA management.
Todd-AO became the largest independent post-production sound studio in the United States and worked on Apollo 13, E.T, Saving Private Ryan, Gladiator, Braveheart and other major films.
[citation needed] The Todd-AO Corporation is famous for providing a wide range of post production services to the motion picture, television, and commercial advertising industries.
Moreover, the company's video services include editing, graphics in 2D or 3D, visual effects, color correction, film-to-video transfer (telecine), and vaulting/storage.