Cinema operator Cineworld completes bankruptcy reorganization

The operator of the world’s second largest cinema chain, Cineworld, has announced the successful completion of a reorganization process that began 11 months ago when the company filed for bankruptcy under Art. 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. As noted in statement Cineworld, in the process of reorganization, it reduced its debt by $4.53 billion, raised $800 million through the issue of new shares and agreed to finance the debt from debt in the amount of $1.71 billion.

Serious problems at Cineworld began during the pandemic. In October 2020, the company had to close all its theaters in the US, UK and Ireland due to the second wave of COVID-19, as well as due to the decision of the film studio Universal in the context of the pandemic to postpone the premieres of the films No Time to Die and Fast and Furious 9.

In 2020-2021, its losses reached $3.3 billion. Cineworld shares fell by 20% during the pandemic, and in September 2022, the company decided to file for bankruptcy under Art. 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code with subsequent reorganization. The company changed management, the former head of Cinepolis Americas, Eduardo Acuna, became the CEO. Several new members joined the board of directors, including the former head of Warner Bros. Ann Sarnoff.

Alena Miklashevskaya