The largest movie theater chain in the world is still about $ 550 million shy of its fundraising goal.
On Tuesday, AMC CEO Adam Aron said the company had managed to raise just over $ 200 million of the $ 750 million it will need to fund through the end of this year.
“We need to collect more, but we are working hard to do that and we have a plan and a blueprint for getting there,” he said. “Whether we get there or not, only time will tell.”
Aron’s appearance on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” comes on the same day that his company’s stock fell to a 52-week intraday low of $ 1.91 per share and closed at a record low of $ 1.98 per share.
AMC has been paralyzed by the coronavirus pandemic, and the shares reflect investors’ lack of confidence in the cinema industry’s immediate recovery. The company’s stock is down more than 70% in 2020.
Cinemas had to close in mid-March and were closed to the public for more than six months last year. AMC operates about 400 of its nearly 600 theaters with limited capacity and shorter opening hours. Theaters in New York City and parts of California remain closed.
The company is in the process of renegotiating its rent payments with landlords and is aiming for reductions, discounts and deferments. If the company were unable to find additional sources of liquidity, it reiterated, it might have to file for bankruptcy.
AMC is not eligible for grants from the $ 15 billion Save Our Stages Act, which is part of the much larger $ 900 billion coronavirus relief package, because it is a publicly traded company with locations in more than 10 states.
AMC entered the pandemic with nearly $ 5 billion in debt, amassed by equipping its theaters with luxury seating and buying competitors such as Carmike and Odeon.
The company has already renegotiated its debt to improve its balance sheet and received a $ 100 million investment from Mudrick Capital Management in December.
“We’ve taken our work off our hands,” Aron said. “We need to raise more money to get to the other side. That said, we’ve already done that four times, and that’s our focus.”