Regal Parent Cineworld has contacted 30 potential buyers in connection with the sale, with first bids expected next month

Royal parent company Cineworld said it had decided to sell assets and the process was “fully underway” with non-binding offers due on February 16.

In a bankruptcy filing, the company said it had contacted 30 “potential parties to the transaction,” including many competitors. If the debtors (Cineworld and its subsidiaries) determine that one or more of the offers is “a potentially value maximizing offer, a second phase of the process begins with the submission of binding bids”.

Britain’s Cineworld filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Texas Southern District Bankruptcy Court in September. It announced earlier this month that it had embarked on a marketing journey to find a strategic or financial buyer. Restructuring is also an option, but the company has not yet received a response to a restructuring proposal submitted to the ad hoc group on December 1. the application said this week.

An ad hoc bankruptcy group is a body of creditors or mortgagees who come together to pursue claims.

Cineworld said the lawsuit comes as it has managed to “successfully stabilize operations and maintain market share” despite box office earnings falling short of industry-wide forecasts.

It also pointedly emphasized that it was only managing the sales process and warned interested parties not to try to do deals behind the company’s back.

“There will be no back door… Certain outreach parties, including two competitors, have attempted to deal directly with the ad hoc group or certain lenders to undermine the claims process. This will not happen or be tolerated. The Debtors will facilitate discussions between the ad hoc group and the issuing parties where appropriate and when the time is right. But it is the borrowers, not the ad hoc group or a single lender, who will drive the commercialization process. This process will not be undermined.”

The ad hoc group and the committee fully agreed with this.

Cineworld may be referring to AMC Entertainment, which said last month it was in talks with Cineworld backers about acquiring assets from Regal – although those talks have ended. Following AMC’s statement, Cineworld clarified that neither it nor its advisers had participated in discussions with AMC to sell any of its cinemas. He also said he would not sell any of his assets separately.

AMC is struggling with its own financial problems. She filed with the SEC today that she amended a 2013 loan agreement to extend the loan agreement’s stay by one year to March 31, 2024. The stock, which fell 3%, rose slightly in after-hours trading.