(Bloomberg) — Cinepolis, the nation’s largest movie theater chain, has reached an agreement with its banks to restructure more than $ 1 billion in loans and receive $ 300 million directly from the company, people familiar with the talks said.
Institutions such as Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, Santander Bank, HSBC, Y Bank of America agreed to provide an additional $ 200 million to help Cinépolis recover from the pandemic after the controlling family of the company offered to make a contribution of 100 million, said the people, who asked not to be identified, since the details are private. The new financing is divided among most banks that have more than $ 1 billion in debt combined.
Cinépolis declined to comment. HSBC it also declined to comment, and the other banks did not immediately respond.
Owned by the Ramírez family, Cinepolis borrowed heavily for drive global expansion during the last decade of its luxurious cinemas with wider spaces to stretch the legs and cocktail service. Until last year, the chain had 862 theaters in 17 countries.
With the pandemic, cinemas were paralyzed, but the vaccination campaign is improving prospects for Mexico, the United States and Spain, three of Cinépolis’s main markets where cinemas have reopened with limited capacity. Hollywood Studios delayed major releases or have chosen to present their films via streaming platforms, so industry experts fear box office revenues will never rebound to pre-levels. COVID-19.
Cinépolis debt includes a term loan of 7 thousand 500 million pesos (382 million dollars) due in 2023, a revolviste loan of 200 million dollars due in 2024 and a guaranteed term loan of 9 thousand 750 million pesos due in 2026. Combined with obligations tied to operations in India, Brazil and the Middle East, the talks cover $ 1.3 billion of debt from at least 17 banks, one of the people said.
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