Bloomberg
AMC Theaters CEO says stock is ‘under attack’ from short sellers
(Bloomberg) – CEO of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. said the chain is once again under attack from short sellers after they went bankrupt during the Covid-19 pandemic. the share will fall – rose 50% in March to 73.8 million shares, CEO Adam Aron said in an interview with social media commentator Trey Collins. In an extensive interview, he also touched on a proposal to raise new equity and praised the master investors who offered the stock in January at more than $ 20 per share. The stock has since retreated from that high level. But they rose to 9.4% on Thursday after Aron said he did not intend to issue any of the 500 million new shares the shareholders are asking to authorize. The company does not want to sell these shares in 2021, but rather the coming years. Aron seeks to implement a long-term growth plan that could silence AMC’s skeptics. “There are strategies we can do very well to get out of this pandemic, to rebuild the company,” Aron said. ‘But not only come back to where we were, but I would like to continue. And I want to grow this company even more. Shirting CollapseAron also reflects the difficult piece that the theater chain endured. In 2019, revenue averaged $ 450 million per month. It dropped to almost zero a little over a year ago after the pandemic forced the theaters to close. The chain has had no cash more than five times in weeks, and has since restructured its finances and kept enough cash to hold most of 2021. Other theaters succumbed to the Covid-19 battle. ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theaters, two jointly owned California films, this week announced plans to close permanently, highlighting the continuing bad state of the industry. If short-term financing needs exist, AMC has prior permission to sell 43 million new shares. Aron said it was enough to get the company through the pandemic, but limited its growth opportunities. If investors approve the plan for additional shares at the annual meeting on May 4, he will have flexibility to buy back debt at a discount or acquire another chain at an attractive price, which will counteract any dilution. now outstanding, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Aron’s comments were contained in a regulatory submission on Thursday. Praise for TradersAron, long known as outspoken, has also praised internet investors who see themselves as a battle against ‘conventional’ market participants, such as short sellers who make a profit when stock prices fall. He links to Collins, which offers online investment comments under the username Trey’s Trades, after his 30-year-old son saw a tweet that Collins sent to his nearly 50,000 followers, known as ‘monkeys’. “My hat is for you,” Aron said. “I’m well aware that you’ve been talking a lot about AMC over the last few months, and you have hundreds of thousands of subscribers, tens of thousands and thousands of people watching your shows on YouTube, you know,” Aron said. said. “I actually work for you,” he said, “and that’s why it’s a special reason for me to talk to you all.” For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com. Sign up now to stay ahead of the most trusted business news source. © 2021 Bloomberg LP