(Bloomberg) -- Cineworld Group Plc is working with Barclays Plc and Deutsche Bank AG to talk to investors about refinancing debt to lower the company’s funding costs, according to people familiar with the matter.
The UK-based movie theater chain is looking to replace about $1.8 billion of bankruptcy exit financing debt due in 2028, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named discussing private information. The company has a $1.75 billion payment-in-kind term loan currently paying SOFR+850 basis points, with a non-call protection that ends in November.
Spokespeople for Cineworld, Barclays and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.
Cineworld was taken over by creditors in August last year. The company filed for Chapter 11 in 2022 to cut its debt pile and renegotiate its leases with US landlords after Covid-linked lockdowns led to the enforced closing of many of its cinemas.
More recently, the company has been hit by a reduction in new film releases because of screen writers and actors’ strikes in 2023. That led Cineworld to slash the burden of rent costs of its UK arm through a British restructuring plan, which was approved by a London judge last week, despite the opposition of some of its landlords.
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