U.S. Court Approves Cineworld’s Restructuring Plan
U.S. Court Approves Cineworld’s Restructuring Plan
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas has approved the debt restructuring plan of the British Cinema Chain operator Cineworld Group.
Cineworld Group plc and its subsidiaries (the “Group”) is a leading cinema operator in 10 countries including the United States and the United Kingdom with 747 sites and 9,139 screens globally.
Last year, Cineworld and certain of its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Group Chapter 11 Companies”) had commenced Chapter 11 cases in the United States Court.
Chapter 11 is a court-supervised process that provides a forum for efficient reorganization of the Group’s business and balance sheet.
The Group Chapter 11 Companies will remain in possession and control of their assets, existing management and the board of directors will stay in control of the business and the Group’s operations will be allowed to continue uninterrupted.
The proposed restructuring includes the release of about $4.53 billion of the group’s debt, rights offering to raise gross proceeds of $800 million and the provision of $1.46 billion in new debt financing.
As part of its restructuring process, Cineworld stated that it wishes to pursue a real estate optimization strategy in the US and intends to engage in collaborative discussions with US landlords to improve US cinema lease terms in an effort to further position the Group for long-term growth.
PJT Partners LP provided financial advice, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Slaughter and May acted as legal counsel and AlixPartners LLP served as restructuring advisor to Cineworld.
