Brings Total of More Than $440 Million in Sales of Non-Strategic
Assets Since August 2017
LEAWOOD, Kan. -- (Business Wire)
AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AMC) (“AMC” or “the Company”)
announced today it will receive approximately $157 million in cash for a
sale of the entirety of its remaining equity interest in National
CineMedia, LLC. (“NCM”). AMC is selling all of its 21,477,480 NCM common
units at $7.30 per unit. Cineworld Group, plc (LSE: CINE) and Cinemark
Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK) are each buying half the units. The NCM stake
is held on the books of AMC with a value of $6.02 per unit as of March
31, 2018. The closing is expected to take place by July 9, 2018.
With the transaction complete, AMC has far exceeded the monetary amount
and time frame for its stated objective of monetizing $400 million in
non-strategic assets by August of 2019. It also is now in full
compliance with a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice
(“DOJ”) in connection with AMC’s acquisition of Carmike Cinemas, Inc. in
December 2016, which required AMC to sell off most of its holdings in
NCM by June of 2019.
Commenting on the transaction, AMC CEO and President Adam Aron said, “At
AMC, we do what we say. This sale of our equity stake in NCM fulfills
our commitment to the Anti-Trust Division of the U.S. Department of
Justice. And when combined with previously announced transactions over
the past ten and a half months to monetize non-strategic assets, it also
gives AMC more than $440 million of increased cash to be wisely
redeployed.”
Aron added, “While we will no longer be a shareholder of National
CineMedia, we do look forward to our continued close cooperation with
NCM in the sale of pre-show onscreen advertising at a majority of our
U.S. theatres.”
On Aug. 4, 2017, AMC announced plans to identify at least $400 million
of non-strategic assets that could be monetized over a 24-month period.
This latest transaction brings the total of AMC’s asset sales to more
than $440 million, when combined with six previously announced asset
monetizations:
-
On Aug. 8, 2017, AMC announced it had sold its 50 percent stake in
Open Road Releasing, LLC (now known as Global Road Entertainment) for
$14.4 million.
-
On Sept. 14, 2017, AMC announced the sale leaseback agreement for
seven of its U.S. theatres which generated approximately $128 million.
-
On Sept. 18, 2017, AMC announced it had reached an agreement to sell
12 million shares of National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: NCMI) (“NCM”)
stock for $73.1 million.
-
On Oct. 2, 2017, AMC announced it had reached an agreement to sell 2.8
million shares of NCM common stock for $18.2 million.
-
On June 1, 2018, AMC announced it had sold 1 million shares of NCM
common stock for $7.2 million.
-
On June 6, 2018, AMC announced it had received approximately $45
million in cash as part of a transaction in which Abry Partners took a
controlling interest in Screenvision Media.
As has been the case heretofore, AMC intends to use the sale proceeds to
pursue the four primary goals of its capital allocation strategies: (a)
deleveraging, (b) returning cash to shareholders through share buybacks
and dividends, (c) increasing its footprint by adding new theatres in
the U.S., Europe and the Middle East and (d) achieving high investment
returns through renovation of theatres with recliner seats, enhanced
food and beverage options and an increased commitment to premium large
format screens.
About AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc.
AMC is the largest movie exhibition company in the U.S., in Europe and
throughout the world with more than 1,000 theatres and 11,000 screens
across the globe. AMC has propelled innovation in the exhibition
industry by: deploying its Signature power-recliner seats; delivering
enhanced food and beverage choices; generating greater guest engagement
through its loyalty program, web site and smartphone apps; offering
premium large format experiences and playing a wide variety of content
including the latest Hollywood releases and independent programming. AMC
operates among the most productive theatres in the United States' top
markets, having the #1 or #2 market share positions in 22 of the 25
largest metropolitan areas of the United States, including the top three
markets (NY, LA, Chicago). Through its Odeon subsidiary AMC operates in
14 European countries and is the #1 theatre chain in Estonia, Finland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Spain, Sweden and UK & Ireland. In a
joint partnership with The Development and Investment Entertainment
Company, a subsidiary of The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, AMC
also operates AMC Cinemas in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. For more
information, visit www.amctheatres.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180618006195/en/
Contacts:
AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc.
Investor Relations:
John
Merriwether, 866-248-3872
InvestorRelations@amctheatres.com
or
Media
Contact:
Ryan Noonan, 913-213-2183
rnoonan@amctheatres.com
Source: AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc.
© 2024 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.