UPDATED with AMC proxy numbers, the Aron Compensation for 2020: CEO Adam Aron, in one of the few interviews he gave during AMC Entertainment’s White Knuckle in 2021, welcomed the reopening of New York City and shared his thoughts on the ‘Reddit rally’.
He spoke to CNBC on Friday (check out the full segment above) and said pre-sale tickets in New York occupy seven of the top 20 spots in the No. 1 exhibitor portfolio of more than 500 locations. By relieving New York and other cities, 90% of the company’s footprint is being reactivated, although capacity constraints are required as a safety measure by Covid-19.
A total of 13 new locations in New York City are opening today. “Nothing is more important to us than opening in New York and Los Angeles,” he said, suggesting that LA will likely take two to four weeks to get California officials the go-ahead.
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Aron was asked about the long-term prospects for movie theaters, given the streaming focus of the studios’ parent companies and the possible difficult recovery of Covid. “The way I have been living since March last year, when we had from $ 5.5 billion in annual income to no income at all, the long-term planning for me was a week from Thursday,” he said with a wry smile. said. ‘We fought for the survival of this company. Five times we were within six to twelve weeks after we ran out of cash. But look what we have achieved. ‘
Asked about the experience of the increase in AMC shares due to trading on Reddit, along with stocks like GameStop, Aron declined to comment in detail on the motivations of retailers. He said the “incredible irony of it all” is that eight months of insane fundraising were 99% complete before the Reddit upswing, which helped AMC reduce its debt by $ 600 million. Between April 2020 and January 2021, AMC raised $ 2.2 billion in cash and another $ 1.5 billion in concessions from lenders and landlords.
Asked if AMC would need additional liquidity, he said: ‘We have not decided yet. We know we now have enough cash in our bank to last long if we can even see a partial recovery of the movie theater industry this summer. ‘
Aron sees the Reddit protest as a confirmation of the legacy and core business of his company. “What I find so appealing about this Reddit phenomenon is the affection and fidelity that Americans across the country have to AMC, to go to movies, to see movies in theaters,” he said. “You see millions and millions of people standing together to save AMC.”
The Reddit wave has significantly changed AMC’s ownership. Silver Lake Capital sold its entire stake in the company at a profit of $ 113 million. The Chinese Wanda group has diluted its position after approving the issuance of new shares in AMC as a survival measure for pandemic.
Wanda’s stake is about 44 million shares – which was worth about 50% of the company six months ago, Aron said, but today only about 10%. Contrary to the notion that the conglomerate has taken a big step back from AMC, Aron said Wanda has only sold about 2 million shares in the past two years.
Aron’s comments come after AMC Entertainment said late last month that it was awarding Aron and other executives ‘additional special incentive cash bonuses’ to acknowledge the challenge they faced in launching a financial rollercoaster in the recent pandemic. Aron will receive $ 3.75 million as part of the payouts from an authorized pot of $ 8.3 million.
Later in the day, AMC said in its power of attorney that Aaron’s total compensation for 2020 had grown to $ 20.9 million, including a salary of $ 1.1 million, bonuses and a grant of $ 14.8 million. In 2019, its total package was $ 9.7 million.