AMC Entertainment aims to raise $400 million in IPO
AMC Entertainment, the nation’s second largest theater chain, plans to go public -- again.
The company, owned by China’s Dalian Wanda Group, said in a regulatory filing that it would seek to raise $400 million from an initial public stock offering. The Leawood, Kan.-based chain, which operates more than 340 theaters, mostly in the U.S., did not disclose how many shares it would issue or at what price.
AMC said it may use proceeds from the offering to fund acquisitions and pay down debt.
The company has made several prior attempts to hold an IPO. AMC originally filed for a $750-million IPO in December 2006 as private equity firms looked to recoup some of their heavy investments in the theater operator. But AMC withdrew that offering in May 2007 after investors balked at the $17-a-share asking price. AMC then unveiled plans for a scaled-back stock offering in September 2007, but withdrew that plan a year later amid market volatility.
And in April 2012, the theater chain shelved plans for an IPO before Wanda, China’s largest entertainment group, agreed to buy AMC for $2.6 billion. The deal created the world’s biggest theater owner.
Wanda Chairman Wang Jianlin has telegraphed his desire to expand Wanda’s entertainment and real estate assets in North America and Europe.
PHOTOS: Billion-dollar movie club
Jianlin told the Times in September that he planned to invest $10 billion in U.S. companies in the next decade, which could include buying department stores, hotel management companies and at least one more cinema chain. Worldwide, Wanda plans to invest as much as $30 billion in the next decade.
AMC’s net income doubled to $41.1 million in the six-month period ended June 30, compared to the same period a year ago. Revenue rose 3% to $1.34 billion, the company reported in a filing.
ALSO:
Wanda of China set to buy more U.S. entertainment properties
Chinese firm’s deal to buy AMC may spur others
Wanda Group of China buys AMC Entertainment
From the Oscars to the Emmys.
Get the Envelope newsletter for exclusive awards season coverage, behind-the-scenes stories from the Envelope podcast and columnist Glenn Whipp’s must-read analysis.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
