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AMC shares soared on Monday after the company revealed it had secured enough funding to stay open and operational until 2021.
“This means that any conversation about an impending bankruptcy for AMC is completely off the table,” CEO Adam Aron said.
Since Dec. 14, the world’s largest movie chain has raised $ 917 million in equity and new debt, the company revealed Monday in a SEC filing.
About $ 500 million of this fundraising came from the issuance of new common shares and an investment agreement with Mudrick Capital Management. The company has also executed letters of commitment for an incremental debt capital of $ 411 million from the increase and refinancing of its European revolving credit facility.
The company’s shares rose more than 35% in premarket trading. Shares have fallen 48% in the past year, bringing their market value to $ 564 million.
“Looking to the future, for the AMC to be successful in the medium term, we will need much of the general public in the U.S. and abroad to be vaccinated,” Aron said. “We welcome the commitment of the new administration of Biden and other national and international governments to a comprehensive vaccination program.”
The pandemic has hit cinemas hard. They were first closed due to the increase in cases and then, when they reopened, moviegoers were hesitant to return. Cinemas hope that the influx of new Hollywood content, declining Covid-19 cases, and increased vaccinations will give consumers the confidence to return.
To date, about 21 million vaccines have been administered. However, the United States continues to report at least 170,000 new cases of Covid-19 and at least 3,080 virus-related deaths each day, based on a seven-day average calculated by CNBC using data from Johns Hopkins University.
Last week there were a lot of delays in the movies. MGM’s latest James Bond film, “No Time to Die,” ran from April to October, Sony’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” moved to November, and Sony’s “Morbius” and “Uncharted” come out in 2022.
Disney also changed half a dozen films, including “The King’s Man,” later in the year or removed them completely from the calendar.
The few films left in February and March are tied to streaming releases. Warner Bros.’s “Tom and Jerry” hits HBO Max and theaters on February 26, Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon” will debut in theaters and Disney + for $ 30 on March 5 and Warner Bros. “Godzilla v. Kong” hits HBO Max and theaters on March 26th.