Mexico’s second-largest movie theater chain, Grupo Cinemex SA, is closing its cinemas indefinitely and is working with banks to restructure at least $230 million in debt, Bloomberg News reported. Cinemex, owned by the family that controls copper miner Grupo Mexico, is closing in on a deal with banks including Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, HSBC Holdings Plc, Banco Santander SA and Bank of Nova Scotia. To ease its cash burn, Cinemex decided to shut 145 cinemas outside the capital area until Hollywood resumes major film releases and it’s clear the company can operate without severe restrictions. The chain’s debt includes a 4.05 billion peso ($202.6 million) term loan and a 640 million peso term loan, both due March 2023. After the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered theaters around the world last year, Cinemex pumped cash into its business to keep operating and kept up interest payments even as new releases from Hollywood petered out. The company’s U.S. unit, Cinemex Holdings USA Inc., filed for bankruptcy last year and emerged after renegotiating certain leases.
