The embattled cinema chain Cineworld denies claims from AMC that it is looking to sell off parts of its business to its competitor.
Back in September, Cineworld filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the US, sparking fresh jolts of uncertainty about the viability of the multiplex model in the wake of a post-pandemic world. The impact of this news differed depending on who you spoke to: some commentators believed that this was an indicator that cinema chain operators would struggle to gain a foothold in a vastly different post-pandemic landscape whereas others argued that this was an issue that was unique to the Cineworld group, a company that had acquired colossal debts as part of its rapid expansion.
Either way, since filing for Chapter 11, it’s clear that the company is looking for a buyer and has been restructuring to make itself a more attractive proposition. However, the company’s rival, AMC has claimed in court filings that it held talks with Cineworld last month about acquiring particular assets (which we imagine to mean cinemas) in the US and Europe.
The idea of the second-largest cinema chain in the world having to sell off key parts of its business to the largest cinema operator in the world isn’t a good look for Cineworld, and the company has issued a statement denying AMC’s claims, stating that “neither it nor its advisers have participated in discussions with AMC Entertainment Holdings…regarding the sale of any of its cinema assets”.
Cineworld’s statement would go on to say that “the company has not initiated and does not intend to initiate a separate marketing process for the sale of any of its assets on an individual basis.”
With two directly opposing claims now sitting in the public domain, it’s clear that there’s some degree of brinkmanship underway here with AMC seemingly looking to further destabilise its debt-laden rival ahead of the sale proceedings which are set to ramp up this month.
That debt (as of last summer) was somewhere in the region of $5bn and with the shifting landscape of cinema exhibition still not having settled since the global pandemic, it will take a bold investor to step in. We’ll bring you more on this story as we hear it.
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