AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC) has announced that it has finalized the sale of 2.8 million shares of National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI).
The company announced the sale of the 2.8 million shares of National CineMedia on October 2 and the shares were sold to an American buyer at $6.49 per share. However, AMC Entertainment did not disclose the name of the buyer. The sale of the shares is expected to bring in a total of $18.2 million. The firm also revealed that the recently unloaded shares were part of the NCM shares that the company was required to sell in 2017 through the consent decree US Department of Justice. This is with regards to the company’s acquisition of Carmike Cinemas, Inc. (NASDAQ:CKEC) in December last year.
“Similar to last week’s transaction, this sale will allow us to further enhance our liquidity position, strengthen our balance sheet through deleveraging and execute on our strategic capital allocation plans of buying back AMC shares all the while investing in our future growth through the renovation of our theaters,” stated Adam Aron, the CEO of AMC Entertainment.
AMC claims that the sale of the National CineMedia stock aligns with its previously announced plan to point out non-strategic assets worth $400 million that can be liquidated over the next two years. The divestment of the sales thus represents the fourth largest asset sale that the company has announced ever since it revealed the plan on August 4th this year. The firm also views the sale as a fulfillment of the responsibility to the US Department of Justice to bring down its stake in National CineMedia to 15 percent by December 2017.
The company is currently the largest movie exhibition firm in Europe, the U.S and other regions all around the world. AMC has 11,000 screens around the world. The company claims that the stock sale will allow it to liquidate its position and this will allow it to boost its balance sheet through deleveraging as well as its strategic capital allocation plan of repurchasing its stock.
AMC Entertainment stock closed the latest trading session on Monday at $14.
