Sources predict Cineworld Group PLC (LSE:CINE) will call in administrators any minute, just days after Sky reported on a restructuring plan for the British cinema chain.
Consulting firm AlixPartners has been lined up to handle the transfer of the business to creditors.
The restructuring is expected to reduce Cineworld’s holding company’s debt pile by US$4.5bn (£3.5bn).
Cineworld, which operates nearly 130 sites in the UK, has been under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US since September 2022 as it wrestled with a poor post-pandemic recovery and inflation woes.
The restructuring is expected to wipe out any equity stakes in the company. Its subsidiaries Regal, Picturehouse, and Cinema City are expected to continue to trade as normal.
London-listed Cineworld shares were last seen at 0.7p, more than 80% lower on a year-to-date basis.
Cineworld declined to comment on the administration, but emphasised that it remains "business as usual" for Cineworld for the time being.