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Shares of AMC soared on Monday after the company announced it had raised enough funding to remain open and operational until 2021.
“This means that any talk of a looming bankruptcy for AMC is completely off the table,” said CEO Adam Aron.
Since Dec. 14, the world’s largest film chain raised $ 917 million in new shares and debt capital, the company revealed in an SEC filing on Monday.
Approximately $ 500 million of this fundraiser comes from the issuance of new common stock and an investment agreement with Mudrick Capital Management. The company also issued $ 411 million worth of pledges to increase and refinance the European revolving credit facility.
The company’s shares rose more than 35% in market trading. The stock has fallen 48% in the past year, bringing its market value to $ 564 million.
“If we look forward to making AMC successful in the medium term, we will have to vaccinate a lot of the general public in the US and abroad,” Aron said. “We welcome the commitment of the new Biden government and other governments, both locally and internationally, to a comprehensive vaccination program.”
Movie theaters were hit hard by the pandemic. At first, they were locked up due to increasing cases, and when they reopened, moviegoers were reluctant to return. Cinemas hope that an influx of new content from Hollywood, declining cases of Covid-19 and an increase in vaccinations will give consumers the confidence to return.
To date, approximately 21 million vaccines have been administered. However, the US still records at least 170,000 new Covid-19 cases and at least 3,080 virus-related deaths each day, based on a seven-day average calculated by CNBC using Johns Hopkins University data.
Last week there were a string of film delays. MGM’s latest James Bond movie, “No Time to Die,” was pushed from April to October, Sony’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” was moved to November, and Sony’s “Morbius” and “Uncharted” left until 2022.
Disney also moved half a dozen movies, including “The King’s Man,” later that year or removed it completely from the calendar.
The few films left in February and March have been linked to streaming releases. Warner Bros. ” Tom and Jerry ‘goes to HBO Max and Theaters on February 26, Disney’s’ Raya and the Last Dragon ‘debuts in theaters and on Disney + on March 5 for $ 30, and Warner Bros.’ Godzilla v. Kong “hits HBO Max and movie theaters on March 26th.