Regal Entertainment Group owner Cineworld Group PLC is in talks with investors for financial lifelines after months of empty theaters in the U.S. and U.K. during the coronavirus pandemic, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. One proposal under consideration would supply rescue financing to help Cineworld avoid filing for protection from creditors. Under an alternate proposal, investors would provide a loan to finance an insolvency proceeding, the British equivalent of bankruptcy. The Financial Times had earlier reported that Cineworld was considering a filing under Britain’s equivalent of chapter 11. Based in the U.K., Cineworld is the second-largest movie-theater operator on a global basis as well as in the U.S., after AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. Cineworld didn’t respond to requests for comment. Cineworld last month closed all of its more than 500 U.S. locations after reopening in August. The company also suspended operations at its 127 locations in the U.K. The company had said in September it had commenced discussions with its lenders and had taken actions to improve its liquidity. The company also reported that revenue for the first half of 2020 was down 67 percent, to $712 million. Cineworld has over $4 billion of total debt, as well as more than $4 billion of lease obligations.
