Other companies in AMC's situation would make debt repayment its top priority for the next year. Tuesday's announcement shows he's not flinching from being opportunistic again. That allowed Aron to capitalize on the interest in the stock to raise funds. AMC had been on the brink, which drew in short sellers, who doubted the company would weather the storm.īut it did, partially because of the apes, who swooped in and drove up the stock price. It had to scurry to raise money just to get by. With no money coming in from ticket sales and concessions, AMC fell behind on its rent. The health crisis shuttered theaters for months. But many would have expected the pandemic to have changed its position.

In pre-Covid times, AMC focused heavily on growing its footprint and upgrading its theaters in order to generate revenue. We are in discussions, for example, with multiple landlords of superb theatres formerly operated by Arclight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres,' said CEO Adam Aron in the filing. 'Given our scale, experience and commitment to innovation and excellence, AMC is being presented with highly attractive theatre acquisition opportunities. Representatives for Mudrick did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that the firm had sold off all its shares. Mudrick also invested in AMC in December. AMC said in a securities filing that it raised $230.5 million through the stock sale and would use those funds for potential acquisitions, upgrading its theaters and deleveraging its balance sheet. Shares of the stock surged Tuesday after the theater chain sold more than 8 million shares to Mudrick Capital Management. In doing so, AMC's management is making a risky bet that these retail investors will continue to prop up the company.

The stock has surged more than 1,100% since January.īut rather than seeing the strong Memorial Day weekend box-office performance as a signal that it could get its finances back on track or focus on paying down its massive debt, the company said it would double down on future investments. Last week, AMC shares spiked more than 116% from Monday to Friday, closing at $26.12.

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