Odeon owner AMC pulls out of talks to buy Cineworld cinema

Odeon owner AMC Entertainment has revealed it is in talks to buy cinemas from lenders to struggling rival Cineworld before pulling out.

hares in Cineworld fell lower on Wednesday afternoon after the collapse of talks was confirmed in regulatory filings.

Cineworld, the world’s second-largest movie theater chain, filed for bankruptcy protection in the US in September after being hit hard by a weaker-than-expected summer audience.

The company is exploring strategic options to secure its future.

Earlier this month, the group, which also runs the Picturehouse chain and operates 751 cinemas globally, said it plans to exit bankruptcy intact and stressed that it has no intention of selling auction any part of its business.

It comes after reports that smaller rival Vue is considering a merger deal.

On Wednesday, US film giant AMC posted documents confirming it was in talks to acquire “several of Cineworld’s strategic theater properties in the US and Europe” with its lenders. for the company.

AMC added: “A definitive agreement has not been reached with the lenders on the terms of any proposals to be presented to the debtors in the Cineworld lawsuits and, at this time, the The negotiations have not yet continued.”

AMC, whose stock has benefited from being treated as a “meme stock” over the past year, has made a profit in the early stages of US trading.