The Cineworld group has confirmed that its planned reorganization is going ahead and revealed plans for a new board led by a former Pepsi chair.
The reorganization planinvolves the release of approximately $4.53 billion of the group’s funded indebtedness, the execution of a fully backstopped rights offering to raise gross proceeds of $800 million and the provision of $1.46 billion in new debt financing.
The group revealed earlier this week that is is entering into administration but the business will continue without interruption. Cineworld Group and its subsidiaries hadcommenced Chapter 11 casesin the United States Bankruptcy Court in September 2022. The group expects to emerge from the Chapter 11 cases in July.
The reorganization plan states that a newly incorporated company will become the sole owner of the group upon emergence from the Chapter 11 cases. In accordance with the terms of the plan, a new board of directors will be appointed. The new board will be chaired by Eric Foss, who served as CEO of Aramark from 2012 and as chair and CEO from 2015 until his retirement in 2019. Prior to Aramark he was CEO of Pepsi Beverages Company and chair and CEO of The Pepsi Bottling Group. Foss currently serves on the board of directors at Cigna, Diversey Holdings Ltd, Primo Water Company and Selina Hospitality PLC.
“The confirmation of our plan of reorganization is a significant milestone as Cineworld moves towards emerging from this process in a strong financial position and with a more resilient capital structure,” said Mooky Greidinger, CEO of Cineworld. “I want to thank our incredible employees as well as our customers, vendors, lenders and other stakeholders who supported us throughout this process. Cineworld remains focused on refining and growing our global business and cinemas for our guests around the world and delivering the most immersive and cutting-edge cinema experiences that make us the best place to watch a movie.”
