Cineworld weighs up pandemic rescue deals

Cinema operator considers offers from hedge funds and lenders as it seeks at least $200m to survive

CINEWORLD is weighing up two rival rescue offers that would drag the world’s second-biggest cinema operator back from the brink of collapse.

Hedge funds, which provided a $250m (£190m) loan in June, have offered sufficient extra funding to help the company survive the pandemic.

A second group of long-standing lenders is working on a rival proposal, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the proposals.

The lenders are said to have written to Cineworld this month, complaining about the company pledging assets to the hedge fund group that includes Centerbridge Partners, Arcmont Asset Management and Sand Grove Capital Management. The lenders reportedly claimed they had security over the assets in question. Cineworld declined to comment. The future of Cineworld, whose acquisitive growth has been masterminded by Israeli businessman Mooky Greidinger in recent years, was thrown into doubt as the pandemic hit at the start of this year.

With debts of more than £6bn and its theatres forced to shut, the pandemic exposed structural weaknesses in Cineworld’s finances, according to some onlookers.

The prospect of two competing factions signals Cineworld will secure at least $200m, an injection that Mr Greidinger recently said the company required.

One source said that a formal deal announcement was “imminent”.

Mr Greidinger wrote to Boris Johnson in October, urging the Prime Minister to offer fresh support, sparking fears for Cineworld, which employs 5,500 people in the UK and 45,000 globally. The Financial Times reported this week that the company was considering a radical restructuring to reduce its rent bill in Britain.

It was said to be planning a company voluntary arrangement to shut some sites, while slashing rent bills for those theatres that remained.

Prior to the pandemic, a growing number of investors predicted the downfall of cinemas.

With streaming networks such as Netflix and Amazon Prime encroaching on the traditional exclusivity cinema chains have enjoyed over new releases, fears were raised over the long-term future of multiplex operators.

Covid-associated delays to No Time to Die, the latest James Bond film, destroyed any hopes of a meaningful sector recovery in 2020 and shone a light on the dependence cinema chains have on a strong slate of blockbuster releases.

While details of Cineworld’s rescue offers remain unclear, the former FTSE 100 company has warned it needs cash soon to avoid collapse.

Some analysts have estimated that Cineworld would need to raise $500m from lenders to get through to next spring.

AMC Entertainment, the world’s biggest operator and the owner of Odeon in the UK, has tapped US equity markets in recent weeks after its shares bounced back on news this month of a possible vaccine.

The Cineworld rival i s burning through about $100m a month and has hired City crisis experts from Alvarez & Marsal to help it to manage its cash reserves.

With shares shedding 80pc of their value this year, Cineworld has declined to turn to shareholders for help.

It abandoned plans over the summer to acquire Canada’s Cineplex for $2.1bn.

Cineworld alleged that Cineplex had breached a number of obligations related to its bank debt, allowing it to back out of the deal. Cineplex has countersued and is seeking $1.1bn in damages.

Cineworld shares closed 4.3pc higher at 46p yesterday, valuing the company at £632m. Its shares were trading at about 220p at the start of the year.