PRESS: Bankrupt Cineworld denies breakup talks; Vue may swoop in

(Alliance News) - Cineworld Group PLC said it intends to emerge from bankruptcy intact, according to a report from Bloomberg on Sunday.

"Cineworld has not initiated, and does not intend to initiate, an individual auction for any of its US, UK or [rest of world] businesses on an individual basis," a spokesperson for the company told Bloomberg over the weekend.

The statement came after another Bloomberg report on Friday that said Cineworld's creditors had held talks about breaking up the chain and selling its Eastern European operations.

Cineworld filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas in early September in the hope that the restructuring process would "significantly reduce" its debt, and strengthen its balance sheet and liquidity.

The London-based chain's woes were caused by a mixture of the pandemic and increasing debt.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-04/cineworld-says-it-intends-to-emerge-from-bankruptcy-intact

Amid the report of a break-up, rival cinema chain Vue International hinted on Friday it may take advantage.

Tim Richards, who founded Vue in 1999, confirmed to The Times that the company was ready to take advantage of any opportunities that presented themselves as speculation mounted that Cineworld could be broken up.

Although unwilling to comment on Cineworld from a consolidation standpoint, Richards defended the firm against accusations that its actions were damaging the wider sector.

"When you have to close your business for 18 months and have restrictions for another six months, there's no company in the world, whether aggressively or conservatively leveraged, that could survive that," he told The Times.

Commenting on the prospect of a stock market listing for Vue, Richards said: "I think because of our size and scale, our next exit would likely be a flotation. And that would probably be in a couple of years."

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/vue-has-its-sights-on-cineworld-kzbccr2pv

Shares in Cineworld were up 3.6% at 4.97 pence on Monday morning in London. The stock is down 90% over the past 12 months.

By Heather Rydings; heatherrydings@alliancenews.com

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