(Bloomberg)—AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. disclosed that it had held talks to acquire US and European assets of Cineworld Group Plc, as part of the latter theater chain’s bankruptcy proceedings.
The negotiations with Cineworld’s lenders are no longer continuing, AMC said in a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday. There’s no assurance that AMC will resume the talks or that the parties could come to terms, the Leawood, Kansas-based company said.
London-based Cineworld, the world’s second-largest movie theater chain, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Texas in September, seeking to pay off heavy debts and finance future growth. At the time, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Israel Greidinger — whose family owns about 20% of Cineworld — said that prior to the filing Cineworld had explored other options, including a secondary US listing, selling non-US assets, merging with a rival and even a SPAC deal.
AMC’s theaters fared better than Cineworld’s during the pandemic in part because its stock price rocketed in early 2021 as retail investors, fueled by social media, piled into so-called meme stocks. That gave AMC the ability to replenish its coffers by issuing equity at heightened prices — a path unavailable to Cineworld.
AMC shares were up 1.8% at 9:31 a.m. in New York on Wednesday. The stock is down about 70% this year.
--With assistance from Thomas Seal.
© 2022 Bloomberg L.P.