AMC stock plunges after $110 million capital raise, 1-for-10 reverse split proposal

Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.
AMC,
-15.13%
plunged 20.6% toward 22-month lows, after the movie theater operator announced a $110 million equity capital raise and said it was seeking a 1-for-10 reverse split of its common stock. The company’s board of directors was looking to hold a special meeting for holders of its common stock and of the AMC Preferred Equity Units
APE,
+72.26%,
known as APEs, to vote on increasing the authorized number of shares outstanding on the proposed reverse stock split. A reverse split would effectively boost the stock price by 10 times, to which would make them more attractive to some institutional investors. Separately, the company said it was raising $110 million of new equity capital through the sale of APEs to Antara Capital LP in two tranches at an average price of 66 cents per APE. That represents a 3.6% discount to Wednesday closing price of 68.5 cents per APE unit. APEs soared 88.3% in premarket trading. “AMC’s ongoing capital raising efforts and balance sheet strengthening continues in earnest,” said Chief Executive Adam Aron. “In addition, with this Antara transaction, we also are improving our balance sheet by reducing the principal balance of our debt by yet another $100 million through a debt for APE unit exchange,” Aron added. AMC’s “meme” stock has plummeted 68.3% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500
SPX,
-2.80%
has lost 18.6%.