Regal Entertainment owner Cineworld Group has appointed a UK administrator and its shares have been delisted from the London Stock Exchange as the movie theater giant contemplates an exit from US bankruptcy protection. USA

On Monday, the cinema chain said Cineworld Group plc had gone into administration under a UK court order and New York-based AlixPartners UK LLP had been appointed as joint administrator of the company and its subsidiaries.

“As Cineworld previously announced, the group restructuring, which will be implemented through the administration process, will transform the group’s balance sheet and provide it with significant additional liquidity to fund its long-term strategy,” Cineworld said in a statement. statement.

Across the Atlantic, Cineworld previously announced that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, had upheld a Chapter 11 reorganization plan, which calls for a new board led by the former top executive. of Pepsi and Pepsi Bottling, Eric Foss. The Chapter 11 filing followed Cineworld being unable to find buyers for some or all of its exhibition assets.

The UK-based exhibitor, whose brands include Regal, Cinema City, Picturehouse and Planet, has maintained that the company is business as usual as it seeks to complete a proposed restructuring to reduce a high debt load. “The group continues to abide by the terms of all existing customer membership programs, including Regal Unlimited and Regal Crown Club in the US and Cineworld Unlimited in the UK,” the exhibitor said in his July 31 statement. .

The proposed restructuring, when complete, will restore Cineworld’s balance sheet by eliminating approximately $4.53 billion of debt, implementing a rights offering to raise approximately $800 million in new equity, and offering $1.46 billion in new debt financing.

At the same time, shareholders have been wiped out as a new lender-controlled incorporated company emerges that will control Cineworld.