Helios and Matheson Announces Up To $150M Equity Offering

Helios and Matheson Analytics, the majority owner of MoviePass, announced Thursday (April 19) that it is aiming to sell as much as $150 million in stock.

In a press release, the company said it hired Canaccord Genuity to handle the equity offering in which, from time to time, it will sell shares up to $150 million. The company said it could use net proceeds to increase its stake in MoviePass, which currently stands at 92 percent, or to financially support the operations of MoviePass and MoviePass Ventures. Proceeds could also be used to pay down a portion of previously issued convertible notes as well as for general corporate purposes, it said in the release.

News of the equity offering didn’t sit well with investors, who sold off the stock in response. According to TechCrunch, the stock lost around 40 percent of its value in trading Thursday (April 19) after the announcement.

The offering also comes shortly after HMNY announced it acquired Moviefone, an entertainment service owned by Oath Inc., which is the former AOL. Moviefone has more than 6 million monthly unique visitors. In a press release, HMNY said Moviefone is its second acquisition in the consumer entertainment industry, giving it another pillar in its efforts to build out its content marketing strategy and advertising revenue platform for MoviePass. Oath will continue to sell Moviefone’s digital ad inventory and has taken an ownership stake in MoviePass through equity in HMNY in connection with the transaction, the companies said in the press release.

“This natural alignment between MoviePass and Moviefone will help us grow our subscriber base significantly and expand our marketing and advertising platform for our studio and brand partners,” said Mitch Lowe, CEO of MoviePass, in prepared remarks. “Moviefone has been a go-to resource for entertainment enthusiasts for years, and we’re excited to bolster its presence and bring this iconic platform into the entertainment ecosystem of the future.” According to HMNY, Moviefone provides consumers with movie showtimes and tickets, trailers, TV schedules, streaming information, cast and crew interviews and photo galleries, among other things.