AMC Entertainment abandons talks to buy Cineworld cinemas

Cineworld shares fell on Wednesday after it emerged that US cinema chain AMC Entertainment had held talks with the company’s lenders about buying some of its cinemas in the US and Europe as part of its bankruptcy process, but later abandoned the idea.

In a regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, AMC said it had been interested in "certain strategic theatre assets of Cineworld in the United States and Europe".

However, it went on: "A definitive agreement with the lenders has not been reached regarding the terms of any proposal to be presented to the debtors in the Cineworld cases, and at this time negotiations are not continuing."

Cineworld announced in early September that it was filing for bankruptcy in the US.

The company said at the time that the Chapter 11 restructuring process was expected to significantly reduce debt and strengthen its balance sheet and liquidity position.

At 1445 GMT, Cineworld shares were down 2% at 4.10p, having earlier reached as low as 3.52p.