People are walking outside the AMC 34th Street 14 cinema, while the city is reopening Phase 4 after the restrictions to slow down the spread of coronavirus on September 4, 2020 in New York.
Noam Galai | Getty Images
Wanda Group in China, the largest shareholder in AMC Entertainment Holdings, has made a share conversion to enable sales of its shares in the cinema operator, a target of the recent WallStreetBets retail frenzy, AMC said.
Wanda America Entertainment, a Wanda entity, converted its Class B ordinary shares in AMC to Class A shares on February 1 “to enable the sale of its common shares,” AMC said in a submission to US Securities and Exchange Commission on 5 Feb.
The submission did not provide details on the amount of stock converted to Class A shares, or said whether Wanda sold any shares in AMC. Wanda did not immediately return a request for comment.
AMC shares hit $ 17.25 on Feb. 1, nearly four times from a week earlier, as social media platforms like Reddit acquired the frantic retail in stocks like AMC and GameStop.
AMC shares fell 41% the next day and the stock is now down about 60% from its February 1 high.
The social media-fueled trade rush has cooled over the past few days as U.S. financial regulators drive GameStop shares through Reddit.
Wanda, whose businesses range from real estate to entertainment, bought a majority stake in AMC in 2012 for $ 2.6 billion, which was then the largest overseas acquisition by a Chinese company.
In 2018, the Chinese-acquired Chinese conglomerate intensified its exposure to the U.S. cinema business amid stricter regulatory scrutiny by Beijing over the overseas expansion of Chinese companies.
According to the group’s website, Wanda still owns a controlling interest in AMC. Wanda also owns Hollywood producer Legendary Entertainment and Australian film chain Hoyts Cinema, the website said.