20110506_041745_185.jpg (Photo : wandacinemas.com)
AMC Entertainment Holdings, the US movie theater chain acquired by China's Wanda Group, is applying to go public on the New York Stock Exchange with the aim of raising as much as US$368 million.
AMC, the second-largest theater chain in the US, is planning to sell 18.4 million Class A shares at US$18 to US$20 each. The proceeds of the IPO listing will be used to refinance debts and for other corporate purposes, the company said in a statement.
The cinema chain said it has hired Citigroup and Bank of America Merrill Lynch as managers and underwriters' representatives for its New York Stock Exchange listing.
The IPO application came more than a year after China's conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group acquired AMC for US$2.6 billion, making Dalian the world's largest theater owner. The acquisition includes assumption of debt.
The deal brought together Wanda's 94 theaters with AMC's 338 theaters. AMC owns 4,855 movies screens including 2,172 3D screens and 125 IMAX.
The Wanda-AMC deal is the largest ever for a private Chinese company investing in the United States. Wanda is chaired by Wang Jianlin, the richest man in China with a net worth of USD$12.4 billion.
Aside from acquiring cinema chains, Wanda also plans to invest in other Hollywood film makers. The company said it is in talks with five largest Hollywood studios for possible investments or for launching a movie fund with the studios.
