Cinema Chain AMC Receives Big Financing Boost

While most of AMC’s movie theaters are now open nationwide, the cinema chain last month warned that it needed $750 million to avert bankruptcy.

The struggling AMC Entertainment Holdings got that lifeline, securing a total of $917 million in financing, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company hopes the infusion will give it a cushion to weather it through, as Covid vaccine distributions ramp up.

AMC has executed a commitment letter for $411 million in debt financing, and has raised $506 million in equity since mid-December, the Journal reported.

“This means that any talk of an imminent bankruptcy for AMC is completely off the table,” CEO Adam Aron said.

Forced to close some of its theaters for long stretches because of the pandemic, AMC has been teetering on the brink of bankruptcy for months. The chain will also continue to negotiate with landlords over lease payments, according to the report.

AMC had about $320 million in cash on hand as of November, down from $418 million in September. It was spending an average of about $125 million per month in October and November, according to reports.

The pandemic has pummeled AMC’s business, as it has with the rest of the movie theater industry. Attendance at AMC’s U.S. locations fell 92 percent in the fourth quarter from the same period a year ago. In cities like New York and Los Angeles, those cinemas have not been able to reopen. [WSJ] — Sasha Jones