The owner of Regal Cinemas announced Tuesday that it had emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy after slashing billions off its debts.
UK-based Cineworld, the world's second largest movie theater chain behind AMC, filed for bankruptcy protection last September after a punishing two years during the pandemic. Its cinemas had continued to operate while it restructured its finances.
The group said in a statement that it had cut its debt by $4.53 billion, raised $800 million in new equity capital and secured debt financing of $1.71 billion.
"Cineworld is ready and fully able to succeed in this dynamic and constantly changing movie theater industry, chairman Eric Foss said in a statement.
The company also said it had appointed several new members to its board, including the former chair and CEO of Warner Bros., Ann Sarnoff. (Warner Bros. is owned by CNN's parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.)
The firm said it hoped Sarnoff's experience would "prove invaluable" in helping it to develop relationships with film studios and content suppliers.
Cineworld struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic, when it was forced to close its movie theaters worldwide. It suffered a combined loss of more than $3.3 billion over 2020 and 2021, and has so far shuttered 51 of its Regal theaters in the United States.
— This article will be updated.
