Cineworld Group PLC (LON:CINE) has raised more money ahead of the re-opening of cinemas in most of its markets over the next few months
The cinema chain said a group of institutional investors had lent it a further US$213mln, which is convertible into shares at a price of 128.5p.
That money plus a US tax refund of US$200mln will be sufficient to see through the re-opening period and any subsequent periods of closure said the group in a statement.
All of Cineworld’s estate has been closed since the start of the Coronavirus lockdowns a year ago and that was reflected in results for the year to end-December.
Losses jumped to US$3.01bn (US$212mln profit in 2019) as revenues tumbled to US$852mln from US$4.37bn.
Net debt at the end of the year amounted to US$8.3bn and Cineworld is to ask shareholders for permission to increase its borrowing limits even more.
Going forward, the company said there is plenty of evidence of pent-up demand with cinemas scheduled to re-open from 2 April in the US, 17 May in the UK and May 2021 elsewhere with a strong pipeline of films set for release.
Earlier this week Cineworld said it has agreed with Warner Bros for a limited number of cinemas to screen ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ on April 2 and going wider with ‘Mortal Kombat’ on April 16, though Disney said its blockbusters would also stream simultaneously on release, a trend that has grown during the lockdown.
Cineworld added that the industry had been performing well in re-opened markets such as China, Japan and Australia.
Mooky Greidinger, Cineworld chief executive said: “I never imagined a time that we would see the closure of our entire cinema estate, nor that varying restrictions would remain in place for so long as we continue to navigate our way through this crisis.
“Looking forward, Cineworld enters 2021 confident about the next chapter in our development; not least the intention to reopen our cinemas starting April 2."