Cineworld buys time until screenings resume
Cinema has been an industry hit particularly hard by global lockdowns this year, but a rescue package arrived for a leading company Monday (November 23).
Cineworld announced it had secured $750 million funding to protect itself from the impact of the health crisis.
The British company - which owns of the U.S. Regal cinema chain - has seen several rounds of debt reordering and restructuring since March.
The funding should help the company keep going into the new year, when Cineworld expects movie fans to return to screenings.
This year, with lockdowns restricting how much people can do - Cineworld has closed theaters and cut costs to $60 million a month.
It has shut 536 Regal theaters in the U.S. and 127 of its sites in the UK.
Cineworld said it had agreed long-term rent deferrals with key landlords and new lease agreements in some cases.
Along with the new warrants - the firm said it had secured $450 million in new loans.
Cineworld has been carrying heavy debt due in part to its $3.6 billion buyout of Regal in 2018.
The company's base case scenario assumes it has enough money to reopen venues by next May.
Shares in Cineworld jumped 20% in response to the deal, as investors also welcomed more positive results from vaccine trials.
