Cineworld has yet to receive any offers to buy the whole company out of bankruptcy following a deadline for interested parties to declare their intention to bid.
Lawyers for the world’s second-biggest cinema chain said it had contacted a “broad universe” of about 40 potential suitors to discuss a sale since early January.
But while Cineworld received “many offers” for its operations outside of the US and the UK, its two biggest markets, potential buyers only expressed “some strategic interest in the full business” and have not come forward with a firm offer.
Lawyers for Cineworld and its secured lenders are now pushing ahead with plans for a debt-for-equity swap, which would give creditors control of the business and probably wipe out the existing shareholders.
In October, Cineworld agreed a $1bn debt repayment with its first lien lenders, many of which were landlords.
Following the agreement, the highest priority lenders are now a group of institutional investors, including Invesco, Eaton Vance and Fidelity, known as the legacy lender group.
