Cineworld creditors mull sale of east European theatres -Bloomberg News

(Reuters) – Cineworld Group PLC’s lenders have held talks on breaking up the bankrupt cinema chain and selling its eastern Europe operations, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

Bids of around $1 billion were more likely to meet the lender group’s threshold for a sale of the movie theatre chain’s Cinema City and Yes Planet theatres in eastern Europe, and Rav-Chen operations in Israel, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg, adding that no formal process had started yet.

Cineworld did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

The cinema chain operator announced a bankruptcy settlement with its landlords and lenders on Oct. 31, and also agreed to explore a potential sale of its business and allow creditor input on its business plan.

Cineworld filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Texas on Sept 7. It cited difficult conditions for movie theaters, as well as high debt stemming from its $3.6 billion purchase of Regal as reasons for its bankruptcy.

(Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru, editing by Deepa Babington)