An AMC theater is pictured amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the New York City neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, USA, January 27, 2021.
Carlo Allegri | Reuters
AMC Entertainment is exploring raising more capital, including through yet another potential stock sale, to weather the Covid-19 pandemic and capitalize on this week’s rally in its stocks, people familiar with the matter said Thursday. .
The largest movie theater chain in the world, with about 1,000 cinemas around the world, suffered unprecedented turmoil after the pandemic last year forced it to close many locations temporarily, while attendance dropped at the open locations. AMC avoided bankruptcy last summer through a debt restructuring deal with its creditors and private equity firm Silver Lake and a series of other financial transactions in recent months.
AMC said Monday it had raised $ 917 million through equity and debt issues since mid-December. “This means that any discussion of impending bankruptcy for AMC is completely off the table,” Chief Executive Adam Aron said in a statement disclosing the additional funds.
On Wednesday, AMC said it had raised an additional $ 304.8 million by selling stock this week, cashing in on an unprecedented social media-driven rally driven by amateur traders who took hedge funds that had shorted their shares.
On Thursday, the company said Silver Lake and other creditors had decided to convert debt into equity in a transaction expected to reduce AMC’s liabilities by $ 600 million.