Cinema advertising giant National CineMedia has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and entered into a debt restructuring agreement with lenders to “meaningfully strengthen the company’s balance sheet and position the company for long-term growth,” the company said late Tuesday.
It filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Texas.
The news comes after Regal owner Cineworld, the world’s second-largest exhibitor, filed for bankruptcy protection from the US in September and formally filed its reorganization plan early this week with a goal of exiting bankruptcy protection by mid-year. come.
National CineMedia listed its assets as worth $500 million – $1 billion, while its liabilities are worth $1 billion – $10 billion. The company missed an interest payment in mid-February, leading to several grace period extensions ahead of Tuesday’s Chapter 11 filing.
As part of the lender deal, National CineMedia said it would “take over all of its critical contracts on the rise (of Chapter 11), to ensure the company will retain the largest national movie theater advertising network.”
The restructuring agreement “will position us to deliver the strong results that our advertisers and movie theater partners have come to expect from us today and well into the future,” said Tom Lesinski, CEO of National CineMedia. “We are entering this process with the overwhelming support of our secured backers and key stakeholders, who we expect will enable us to emerge quickly and responsibly as a stronger company.” The company also emphasized its goal to “get out of Chapter 11 quickly without disrupting operations or customer relationships.”
Exhibitor AMC Theaters announced the acquisition of shares in the cinema advertising company on Monday. A registration application showed that the interest was 9.1 percent. Reuters reported that AMC was now the second largest shareholder of National CineMedia.
