The world’s second-largest cinema operator may escape total collapse.
Cineworld, a victim of the global pandemic, has two offers on the table to rescue it from bankruptcy.
A US$250m loan was provided for the group in June this year by hedge funds that, it is reported, are now offering still more money to help keep it afloat. Now, says Bloomberg, another proposal has been made to the cinema chain that has debts of over $7bn.
It is thought that Cineworld may end up with a loan of around $200m from one or other of the offers to keep its doors open and its 45,000 employees around the world still in employment.
According to the Financial Times this week, the group is working on a plan to totally restructure, closing some sites and slashing rent bills for those that remain.
The problem for cinemas worldwide is that the pandemic has delayed the release of some major new movie releases at the same time as streaming networks such as Netflix and Amazon Prime have eaten into its market. Its share price has fallen 80 per cent and it is reported to be burning up $100m each month.
The industry’s largest operator, AMC Entertainment, has been busy in the US equity markets following the bouncing back of its share price when the new vaccine was announced.
