Appleby has advised a group of lenders on the Jersey law aspects of various rescue facilities advanced to the Cineworld group, that resulted in Cineworld Group plc and certain subsidiaries (Chapter 11 Companies) completing their financial restructuring and ultimate emergence from their Chapter 11 cases.
Cineworld is the world’s second largest cinema chain, operating in 10 countries with 672 sites and 8,181 screens.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced Cineworld to close cinemas worldwide, which inevitably impacted their ability to generate revenue. On 7 September 2022, Cineworld announced that the Chapter 11 Companies had commenced Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The Chapter 11 Companies’ plan of reorganisation, which set out the terms of a debt-for-equity restructuring transaction agreed with an ad hoc group of Cineworld’s lenders, was confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court on 28 June 2023. The Chapter 11 Companies subsequently emerged from their Chapter 11 cases on 31 July 2023.
The Appleby team representing the lenders, on the Jersey corporate and finance law aspects, included managing partner James Gaudin, senior associate Johanna Murphy and paralegal Holly Tanguy.
James Gaudin said: “Our team has extensive experience in restructuring and international financing transactions and we are very pleased that we were able to assist Arnold & Porter, KS Law and Sullivan & Cromwell, as onshore counsel, on this significant financing for a high-profile cinema chain that we all know and support.”
