As Regal Entertainment owner Cineworld prepares to re-open its movie theaters, the group has agreed a $250M secured debt facility with a set of private institutional investors. The new facility reaches maturity in 2023 and follows covenant amendments and a revolving credit facility increase of $110M set at the end of last month.
Under that earlier deal, Cineworld said lenders had agreed to waive the leverage covenant for its credit facility for a June test date and given it added flexibility going forward for December. Loans can require companies to maintain a certain debt to cash flow ratio to keep a loan in good standing and lenders conduct period reviews to make sure they are in line.
Last week, Cineworld, whose cinemas have been shuttered since March amid the coronavirus crisis, confirmed it will re-open in some of its markets during the last week of June, with all theaters expected to be back online during the course of July. The U.S. and UK are set to get back to work on July 10 while Czech Republic will go on June 26 as will Slovakia. Poland and Bulgaria are eyeing July 3, Israel is pegged to July 9, and Hungary and Romania are to be confirmed, but are anticipated to re-open the week of July 3.
At the time of those dates being set, Cineworld said it had updated its booking system to ensure social distancing within and throughout auditoriums, adapted its daily movie schedules to manage lines and to avoid the build-up of crowds in lobbies, and enhanced its cleanliness and sanitation procedures across all sites. On Friday, Regal confirmed that staff and moviegoers will be required to wear masks at its cinemas.
Today, the globe’s second largest exhibitor said, “With the easing of lockdown restrictions in key jurisdictions, Cineworld is excited to welcome customers back to cinemas and enjoy the best place to watch a movie.”