Cineworld unlikely to receive buyout
Chances of a full rescue of Cineworld are looking increasingly unlikely, as it was revealed that no full offer for the cinema chain has been received since it entered bankruptcy protection in September.
Cineworld was sitting on net debt and lease liabilities worth reportedly $8.8bn (c. £7.31bn) when it fell into bankruptcy.
A lawyer representing Cineworld told a Texas court on Tuesday that the operator had been in contact with around 40 potential investors since early January, but no interested parties came forward with a firm offer for the entire business.
Cineworld’s lawyers are now looking to push for a debt-for-equity swap, which could see the transfer of control of the business from shareholders to its creditors. Cineworld is in debt to firms such as Invesco, Eaton Vance, and Fidelity.
The cinema operator previously denied talks with rival Odeon’s owner AMC over sales of its individual cinemas.
Founded in 1995, Cineworld operates 500 sites in the US and over 100 in the UK and Ireland.