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At the time the biggest lenders, according to data from Bloomberg, were Barings, Invesco, Dryden Leveraged Loan CDO and Carlyle.
Richards, 63, acknowledged that the lenders would not be long-term holders of the equity, although when asked if he would need to find fresh shareholders to back his ambitions, he replied: “No. We can participate.”
On the prospect of a stock market listing for Vue, he 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.”
Cineworld’s woes, caused by a mixture of the pandemic and a debt-fuelled acquisition spree, have prompted suggestions that the world’s second biggest cinema operator could be split up and sold off next year, one scenario being a break-up by country.
Cineworld, which started life in 1995, has 9,139 screens at 747 sites across ten countries, including the Regal chain in America, which it acquired for $5.8 billion in 2018. It went on to launch a recommended C$2.8 billion takeover of Toronto-based Cineplex, only to pull out after the pandemic hit. Cineplex sued its British suitor, winning a damages award of C$1.23 billion.
One industry insider said: “The competition issues would not be insurmountable. It would absolutely be a doable deal.”
In America, Cineworld is seeking to push through a significant reduction in its debt under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection process.
Although unwilling to comment on Cineworld from a consolidation standpoint, Richards defended his rival 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.”
Registered in England No. 894646.
Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF.
Friday December 02 2022, 12.00am, The Times
Britain’s third-biggest cinema chain is ready to swoop on a rival in a “huge consolidation play” ahead of a possible stock market flotation.
Tim Richards, who founded Vue International in 1999, confirmed the company was ready to take advantage of any opportunities that presented themselves as speculation mounts that Cineworld could be broken up.
“We’ve done 14 deals in the last 20 years,” Richards said. “[Mergers and acquisitions] is a part of the business we’re very good at. There are going to be opportunities for M&A activity of all sizes and scale in the next 18 months.”
Vue, which trails behind Odeon and Cineworld, has 91 venues across the UK and Ireland with 870 screens. Overall, it has 227 sites in nine countries with 10,000 employees.
The group’s ambitions are perhaps surprising given that it is only a few months since it went through a £1 billion restructuring that wiped out both its Canadian backers and management’s 26 per cent equity stake.
Omers and Alberta Investment Management Corporation ceded control of the company to its lenders under a debt-for-equity swap that converted £465 million of debt into equity and gave the company an additional £75 million of liquidity to recapitalise it.
Some interesting comments here regarding Amazon's 'movie ambitions' (vertical integration of production and distribution):
https://old.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/z3c4nf/cinema_stocks_surge_amid_report_amazon_plans_1b/
Along with this development from a couple of years ago I can see how CINE could become a takeover target:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomnunan/2020/08/07/judge-decrees-studios-can-own-theater-chains-for-first-time-in-71-yearswhat-lies-ahead/
That was me = )
Yep, standard gap fill
Little tip when trying to view Bloomberg and FT articles; Google the headline then click the link in the results and it will allow you to view the full text without the irritating ‘subscribe now’ message.
Troublesome - that was poetic
Thanks Libero, and thanks again ShaunP.
The more I read about this the more I like it.
Great products, huge demand, lots of strings to their bow and low number of shares in issue.
Will be looking to get in over the next few days.
GSK have 5 billion shares in issue
NCYT have 75 million
ShaunP - thanks for making the your research notes available. I’ve spent most of this afternoon reading through them thinking how the hell I haven’t taken a closer look at this up to now.
Little tip when trying to view FT articles; Google the headline then click the link in the results and it will allow you to view the full text without the irritating ‘subscribe now’ message.
Hi ShareExpert. KRecognise you from your posts on BOO. Am looking to get in here today after the JPM upgrade.
RishiSunak, Anglaterre; could not have said it better myself.
Most people here should not be investing AIM stocks.
Is keeping me amused though
Good work Rebs
I don't post on this board often but I'm still holding strong. Has been mentioned already - there's gaps that will probably need to be filled before price can continue upwards. BWTFDIK
https://imgur.com/a/hdV7bL0
It's just one of many indicators Racer8. Google can explain much better than me. 'shares' 'charting' 'gap' are the keywords
Here's one to get you started: investopedia.com/articles/trading/05/playinggaps.asp
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day...
Next gap is at 3.54-3.84.
It’s an awesome car Bullit - I don’t own one though, went British for my latest toy - leagues ahead of the Italians atm.
Regarding the gap, it’s a short term prediction, so nothing to worry about if you’re a mid to long term holder.
There’s a gap at 2.95 on the hourly chart. I suspect we may dip to this level before the price continues upwards.