Cineworld suspends trading on London Stock Exchange as restructuring plans limp on

Beleaguered Cinema chain Cineworld will suspend its listing on the London Stock Exchange today as it limps on with a restructuring plan to reduce its massive mountain of debt.

The British chain revealed it would file for administration and stop trading on the exchange last month as it creaks under the weight of a huge debt pile built up before the pandemic.

The firm had disclosed a net debt of about $8.8 billion, according to its latest results at the time.

Bosses said administrators, once appointed, would shift all of its assets to a wholly owned subsidiary called Crown, and a newly incorporated company controlled by the group’s lenders will become the sole owner of Crown, with Cineworld ceasing to have any interest in the parties.

In a statement this morning, bosses said the firm had also struck a new $250m credit deal to help finance its turnaround plans.

“The restructuring, when implemented by way of an administration process, will transform the Group’s balance sheet and provide it with significant additional liquidity to fund its long-term strategy,” Cineworld said.

The firm claimed a restructuring will involve the release around $4.53bn of the group’s funded indebtedness, the execution of a rights offering to raise gross proceeds of $800m and the provision of $1.71bn in new debt financing.

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Cineworld suspends trading on London Stock Exchange as restructuring plans limp on