AMC Theatres Downgraded Over "Minimal Liquidity Options" as Stock Tumbles

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Exhibitors and studios might be well served to remember a saying from Mahatma Gandhi — “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” Instead of heeding the words of the Indian nationalist, the two camps are locked in a deadly struggle, one fueled by ego, distrust, and recrimination, that will likely leave both sides gravely wounded unless, or until, cooler heads prevail.

By Dave McNary

He's used to being labelled a bad boy but now ex-Strictly pro Kevin Clifton wants to be a Bard boy.

S&P Global Ratings on Thursday downgraded Walt Disney Co.'s credit rating over concerns the coronavirus crisis will slow any reopening of the studio's shuttered theme parks and studio production. "Continued government-imposed social distancing and, longer term, consumer concerns about attending public events will likely retard theme park attendance," the credit agency wrote in an April 23 note as it trimmed Disney's rating to an A-minus from A.

By Gene Maddaus

By Joe Otterson

B.

Cash-strapped exhibitor AMC Entertainment on Thursday said it will raise $500 million in new debt to bolster its balance sheet liquidity. "AMC intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including further increasing AMC’s liquidity," the cinema chain said in a statement about the senior notes due in 2025 to be offered via a private offering.

By Dave McNary

The emerging narrative on Wall Street about AMC Theatres, North America's largest cinema circuit, is that the company may be on the brink of bankruptcy amid the coronavirus pandemic. The theater chain's hefty debt load is trading at highly distressed levels, and analysts have sounded the alarm that "AMC has minimal liquidity options to make it through" the virus crisis, recommending investors sell off stock before the exhibition giant files for Chapter 11 protection.

AMC Theatres looked likely to file for bankruptcy last week, a grim but impending reality that was only exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic causing the entire movie business to shut down.

By Greg Evans

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the credit rating for exhibition giant Cinemark Holdings over concerns that current theater closures amid the coronavirus pandemic will last until June "at the earliest." "Additionally, Fitch remains concerned over the company's ability to quickly return to a normalized course of operations due to either changes in consumer behavior or additional public health mandates that limit theater attendance capacity," the ratings agency said Thursday in a ratings note.

AMC Theatres — whose business has effectively shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic — looks increasingly likely to file for bankruptcy with its cash reserves dwindling, according to Wall Street analysts.

Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall has downgraded Walt Disney's stock in a Tuesday report that forecasts the studio's theme park division will take two years to return to normal attendance in the coronavirus pandemic era. "We don't think Parks can get back to anything close to full capacity until testing and/or vaccines are far more ubiquitous," Cahall told investors.