SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Chinese group Wanda Group, a major shareholder in AMC Entertainment Holdings Ltd, has made a conversion of shares to allow the sale of its shares to the film operator, a target of the recent retail frenzy of WallStreetBets, AMC said at a stock exchange presentation.
Wanda America Entertainment Inc., a unit of Wanda, converted its Class B common shares in AMC into Class A shares on Feb. 1 “to allow the sale of its common shares,” AMC said in its filing. to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. on February 5th.
No details were given at the presentation about the number of shares converted into Class A shares nor was it said whether Wanda had sold any AMC shares. Wanda did not immediately return any requests for comment.
Shares of AMC hit $ 17.25 on Feb. 1, nearly quadrupling from a week earlier, as social media platforms like Reddit fueled the frantic retail buying of very short stocks like AMC. and GameStop.
AMC shares fell 41% the next day and shares are now down about 60% from their February 1 high.
Social media trading frenzy has cooled in recent days as U.S. financial regulators analyze GameStop’s Reddit-driven stock rise.
Wanda, whose business ranges from real estate to entertainment, bought a majority stake in AMC in 2012 for $ 2.6 billion, in what was then the largest overseas acquisition of a private Chinese company.
In 2018, once acquired Chinese conglomerate reduced its exposure to the US cinema operator amid tight regulatory control in Beijing over the expansion of Chinese companies abroad.
Wanda still has a controlling stake in AMC, according to the group’s website. Wanda also owns Hollywood producer Legendary Entertainment and Australian film chain Hoyts Cinema, according to the website.
Report by Samuel Shen and Brenda Goh; edited by Richard Pullin