Cineworld faces revolt over £3bn Regal takeover

ONE of Cineworld’s biggest shareholders has criticised the multiplex’s planned £2.7bn takeover of US rival Regal.

Royal London Asset Management, which has a 4pc stake in Cineworld, said it was worried about the amount of debt being taken on to finance the deal. Analysts have estimated that Cineworld will need to raise around £2bn in funding.

Richard Marwood, a fund manager at Royal London, said: ‘We’ve been slightly taken aback by the region – the fact that they’re going to the US – and also just the sheer scale of what it is they’re tackling.’

A number of Cineworld’s shareholders have already raised concerns about the deal which dwarfs the £1.5bn value of the UK cinema chain.

Cineworld’s purchase of Regal will make it the second biggest cinema chain in the world by number of screens, with over 9,500 across Europe and the US.