Regal Cinemas Parent Company Cineworld Pursuing Asset Sale

When COVID-19 struck the world, it forced many businesses to close down, including the movie theater business. Some theater companies were able to get bailed out, while others are facing bankruptcy and closures. CineWorld's Regal Cinema chain is the first to be effected by the bankruptcy filings, with the parent company closing down several theaters. As things progressed Cineworld was forced to close down even more theaters including Regal Union Square in New York City and the Sherman Oaks Galleria location. Now it seems that the bankruptcy is worse than previously thought, and Cineworld is currently pursuing a sale of their company and all of their assets. According to Deadline, the theater company has reached out to about 30 buyers as it pursues a sale and initial bids will begin next month on February 16th. 

The trade also notes that during their bankruptcy filing, Cineworld revealed that they were pursuing "potential transaction parties" that included a bunch of their competitors and that if they were to receive an offer that they find to be "a potential value maximizing proposition, a second phase of the process will commence with the solicitation of binding offers." All this being said, even though Regal Cinemas and Cineworld's future may be in doubt, the movie theater company could potentially live on via a new owner.

News of a bankruptcy filing hit back in August, with The Wall Street Journal also saying that in the United Kingdom (where Cineworld is based), they are considering filing for an insolvency proceeding. This is the latest in a series of serious issues for Cineworld, who avoided bankruptcy in 2020 because in the throes of the pandemic, creditors were a bit more understanding of the theater chain's troubles.

AMC Theatres ended up getting an injection of cash from the internet, who turned the failing chain into a "meme stock" like Gamestop. Cineworld Chief Executive Mooky Greidinger told The Wall Street Journal that every company didn't have the good fortune to be lifted out of trouble by the arbitrary whims of Reddit.

"I think what happened to them is a very good thing for AMC. And you know, we are traded in the U.K. market. Not every stock in the U.S. market is a meme stock. And I think that AMC did well with it," Greidinger said, adding, "I don't think that any industry wants to see one of the huge players of the industry falling down. This isn't positive news for anyone."

What do you think about the situation? Are you sad to see Regal Cinemas go out of business? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!