Cineworld Considers US Public Listing

Movie theater operator Cineworld Group Plc is mulling a public listing in the U.S. amid its attempt to rebound from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Cineworld, which is based in London, has brought in most of its global profits in the U.S. since 2018, when it acquired Regal Entertainment. Coronavirus-related closures and movie studios choosing streaming platforms to unveil their new releases have crippled movie theaters’ earning potential.

In its first-half results statement released Thursday (Aug. 12), Cineworld’s board noted is “considering options to maximize shareholder value now and into the future by accessing this liquidity through a listing of Cineworld or a partial listing of Regal in the U.S.”

Cineworld or Regal going on U.S. stock markets are “just ideas,” Chief Executive Officer Mooky Greidinger told Bloomberg, noting the company has no plans to leave the London Stock Exchange.

“We are a U.K. company with a U.K. listing,” he said.

Rival AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. now has a market capitalization of about $16 billion, according to Bloomberg, compared to about $1.3 billion for Cineworld.

Related: Moviegoers Can Soon Pay For AMC Tickets Using Bitcoin

AMC Entertainment will soon accept bitcoin for the online payment of movie theater tickets and concession snacks, AMC CEO and Chairman Adam Aron said in an earnings call, according to several reports. He expects to happen by the end of this year and noted AMC will accept Apple and Google Pay for both tickets and snacks.

AMC, the world’s largest movie theater chain, posted a loss of $344 million against $444.7 million in revenue in the second quarter of fiscal 2021, according to a press release about the earnings call. The company reported 22 million attendees worldwide for the period.

AMC has 953 U.S. locations and 335 international theaters. The company was near bankruptcy last year but was saved by a group of Reddit investors, who turned the company and GameStop into meme stocks that increased interest in the companies.