National CineMedia files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
National CineMedia, the largest movie-theater advertising business in North America, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and entered into a restructuring agreement with its lenders. The move highlights the challenges facing the cinema industry, which is yet to recover from the pandemic slump and a lack of major film releases. Under the restructuring, NCM's secured lenders will convert all its debt into equity, and its listed holding company, National CineMedia Inc, will receive an ownership interest of about 14% in the restructured entity. Shares of the holding company rose more than 60% to $0.33 on Wednesday, having jumped 55% a day earlier after AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc disclosed it had acquired a large stake, making it NCM's second-largest shareholder.
