A man walks past the AMC Georgetown 14 Theatres in Washington, DC on June 3, 2021.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
AMC Entertainment is fast-tracking its plan to refinance its debt, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal.
The publication said the movie theater chain is in advanced refinancing talks with multiple interested parties to lower its interest burden and stretch out its maturities by several years. This follows comments made by CEO Adam Aron earlier this month that one of his major goals for 2022 was to improve the company’s financial position.
Representatives from AMC did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
AMC’s total debt is north of $5 billion, but Aron has repeatedly advised investors that it does not have any maturities coming due until 2023.
On Tuesday, AMC shares were down more than 4% on the debt refinancing news, amid robust selling in the broader market.
AMC’s push to shore up its balance sheet comes as the company’s stock value has slipped more than 40% since the beginning of the year, reversing major gains that helped AMC stave off bankruptcy last year. AMC’s stock value was bolstered in 2021 by retail investors who followed the stock closely on social media platforms such as Reddit.
Caught up in the meme stock trading frenzy, AMC was able to refill its coffers through stock sales in early 2021, but twice failed to win shareholder approval to issue new equity in the company. This means the company is not able to issue more shares to help pay down its debt.
