Cineworld commits to selling business as a whole

Cineworld has denied that it looked into breaking up the business and selling some of its locations to the owner of its rival, Odeon. 

The cinema chain said that it was holding out for a buyer that was interested in acquiring the entire business. 

There had been reports that the British cinema chain, which filed for bankruptcy protection in the US in September last year, had been in talks to sell some of its cinemas in the US and Europe to AMC Entertainment, which owns Odeon. 

It was reported at the time that the business had debts totally more than $4.8bn (£4bn/€4.5bn), following periods of closure during the pandemic, a failure to bounce back post-COVID and the lack of blockbuster films heading to cinema screens.  

As per the Guardian, Cineworld said in a statement: “Cineworld would like to clarify that neither it nor its advisers have participated in discussions with AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc regarding the sale of any of its cinema assets.”

Cineworld also owns the Picturehouse brand and said that it was focused on selling the business in its entirety, rather than seeking buyers for individual assets. The Guardian also reported that bosses planned to approach interested parties later this month. 

The cinema chain was founded in 1995 and operates 500 sites in the US and over 100 locations in the UK and Ireland. Cineworld also has venues in Israel, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania.