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AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., the world’s largest cinema chain, agreed to sell as many as 15 million shares of its stock while warning investors that it may need to file for bankruptcy, leaving its equity worthless, Bloomberg News reported. AMC, contending with a liquidity crisis that threatens its ability to remain a going concern, said that the equity distribution plan might not be enough. With $417.9 million in cash on hand, the company still needs a material amount of new funding by the end of the year to stay in business, it said in a filing yesterday. If AMC is unable to raise enough cash to meet its obligations, the company said that it would file for bankruptcy or seek an out-of-court restructuring of its debts. In the event of a liquidation or bankruptcy, AMC’s shareholders would likely suffer a total loss of their investment, the company said. The company “remains in a precarious cash position with a burn rate of about $100 million per month,” Eric Handler, an analyst at MKM Partners, wrote in a note yesterday. AMC and other movie-theater owners have been trapped in a tough situation since the coronavirus pandemic forced auditoriums to close in the spring. While many locations have reopened, capacity restrictions and audience skittishness have deeply hurt revenue. 

Movie-theater companies of all sizes are confronting unprecedented financial strain during the pandemic as capacity restrictions, moviegoers’ reluctance to return to cinemas and a dearth of high-profile movies from big studios limit their chances of mounting a comeback. Although national cinema chains have been hit, too, for small family-owned operators, the problems are particularly acute and personal, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. They don’t have large financial cushions, making them especially vulnerable to downturns that can wipe out family livelihoods. All U.S. states have now allowed theaters to reopen at limited capacity, though restrictions on key areas such as New York City and Los Angeles County remain a major problem for movie-theater owners nationwide. Not just the nation’s most lucrative movie-theater market, New York also is home to many prominent film critics whom studios rely on to generate media buzz. Partly because of these closures, studios have been postponing the release of high-profile films, leaving theaters without fresh material to woo patrons. Some expect many theaters to close for good if the logjam continues. John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, the cinema industry’s main lobbying group, said that only about 5 percent of member theaters have shut permanently. But without either a federal stimulus package or a reopening of New York City theaters, he said, more than a quarter of small to midsize theaters expect to go out of business by the end of October and 69 percent by year-end, according to a survey of the group’s members.

This time last year, shoppers on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile were waiting for Louis Vuitton to debut its whimsical holiday window decorations. Now those same windows are hidden behind a wall of wood panels painted bright orange, Reuters reported. While still open for shoppers, stores like Gucci and Nordstrom are also boarded up after looters targeted the city's famed retail district in the spring and summer, when protests gripped more than 100 U.S. cities. As security experts warn that the U.S. presidential election could spark renewed civil unrest, those stores remain clad in plywood as retailers seek to keep property and employees safe in the event street violence flares anew. Aon Plc AON.N, the world's largest insurance broker, told Reuters the majority of retailer clients it surveyed are considering boarding up stores because they are worried about looting around the election. Aon executive MaryAnne Burke said about 70 percent of these retailer clients did so during protests in May and June.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc., the chain that features sports bars and arcade games, launched a junk bond sale yesterday that would give the company more liquidity and provide relief from Covid-19 pressures, Reuters reported. The company is looking to borrow $500 million through the five-year secured note offering. Proceeds will repay a term loan and credit line, and be used for general corporate purposes. As part of the transaction, the firm is suspending certain maintenance covenants through April 2022, adding a $150 million minimum liquidity covenant and extending the maturity of its revolving credit facility by two years to 2024, according to a news release. Upon closing, the company will have about $299 million in available liquidity. Pandemic shutdowns sent revenue at the chain plunging, and it risked breaching the terms of a $500 million credit line. A waiver from lenders was set to expire Nov. 1, and the company has previously warned that it may need to file chapter 11 to restructure its obligations. Dave & Buster’s has been showing improving sales in October. 

Southeastern Grocers Inc., the Florida-based operator of supermarket chains Winn-Dixie and Bi-Lo, yesterday made its filing for an initial public offering public, more than two years after it filed for chapter 11 protection, Reuters reported. Last month, the company had confidentially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an IPO. The offering comes amid a massive rebound in U.S. capital markets, which came to a halt earlier this year due to uncertainty around the COVID-19 crisis. Grocers are also benefiting from consumers shopping for essentials as they stay at home during the pandemic. The company's bankruptcy in March 2018 came as margins of supermarkets were hurt by growing competition from big-box stores, including Walmart Inc., and online giants such as Amazon.com Inc.

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., the world's largest theater chain, said yesterday that it plans to open more cinemas in the United States this week, offering some hope to an industry hammered by pandemic restrictions and sending its shares up 24 percent, Reuters reported. The company said that it will reopen about a dozen locations in New York state starting Oct. 23, following guidance from Governor Andrew Cuomo over the weekend, and plans to have more than 530 theaters open in the country by the end of the month. While big theater chains such as AMC Entertainment, Cineworld Group and others have reopened many locations, audiences have been thin due to virus fears and delays in major releases by studios. Small and mid-sized theater companies have said they may not survive the impact of the pandemic.

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. has lined up $1.65 billion in financing to carry itself through bankruptcy, sparking a market rally that more than doubled the rental-car company’s share price, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The shares rose as high as $2.86 cents after the company announced the financing package from Thursday’s closing price of $1.03, reflecting the continued interest in Hertz from risk-hungry traders despite its severe financial strain. By early afternoon, the stock was trading at $2.15. Hertz said that the new financing will give it more financial flexibility as it deals with fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic and its impact on travel. The company’s shares went on a gravity-defying rally after it filed for protection from creditors in May, even though the chapter 11 filing put the equity at high risk of becoming worthless. Hertz tried to capitalize on the market anomaly by issuing new stock, a seemingly unprecedented move for a bankrupt company to raise inexpensive capital. Hertz suspended the stock sales after the Securities and Exchange Commission raised questions, but not before issuing $29 million in equity. The company then turned to lenders for additional financing, which must be approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

A plan to sell bankrupt JCPenney Co.’s retail operations to its two biggest landlords stalled this week, raising the prospect that creditors will carry the burden of millions of dollars in extra costs as the retailer prepares for the crucial holiday season, Bloomberg News reported. Talks between JCPenney’s lenders and the would-be buyers, mall owners Simon Property Group Inc. and Brookfield Property Partners LP, have broken down in recent days. The landlords missed several deal deadlines as communication between the parties lapsed. The two sides will now turn to mediation to help them determine whether they can close the deal, and on what terms. They met to begin that process on Wednesday. An attorney for the company has said that disputes won’t stand in the way of a final agreement. Representatives for Brookfield, Simon, JCPenney and its lender group didn’t comment. The standstill comes ahead of JCPenney’s most crucial quarter, since retailers typically make much of their annual revenue in the period between Thanksgiving and the new year. At stake in the coming weeks is financial responsibility for tens of millions of dollars of orders, including merchandise the company must have in stock for holiday shopping. Creditors say JCPenney’s original sale plan called for the deal to close around October 3, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday. A further delay in closing the deal threatens to put the holiday purchasing burden onto the group of creditors running JCPenney in its bankruptcy.

Private-equity-backed YogaWorks Inc. has filed for bankruptcy and plans to permanently close its dozens of studios across the U.S. but keep offering virtual classes, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The California-based yoga studio chain is the latest fitness business to succumb to shutdowns and restrictions on gyms and in-person gatherings related to the coronavirus pandemic. The company said yesterday in a press release that its operations will continue via its livestream and on-demand digital platforms, YogaWorks Live and MyYogaWorks, as well as its teacher training and workshop departments. The digital business has been profitable since it was started in 2013, the company said. YogaWorks was founded in 1987 and was acquired by private-equity firm Great Hill Partners in 2014. YogaWorks said that it has an agreement to sell its brand, digital platform and education business to Serene Investment Management LLC, subject to better offers at a potential bankruptcy auction. Serene has also agreed to provide YogaWorks with a $3.35 million bankruptcy loan to fund its chapter 11 case, court papers say. Other fitness businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic. Gold’s Gym International Inc., 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide Inc. and the owner of New York Sports Clubs have all filed for chapter 11 protection in recent months. The fitness industry has responded to pandemic closures by boosting digital platforms and streaming options to allow patrons to exercise from home. YogaWorks Chief Executive Brian Cooper said the COVID-19 pandemic “created unprecedented challenges for our industry and business,” including studio closures, and social-distancing measures and attendance restrictions in studios that have since reopened.