AMC Entertainment Holdings is asking a federal court to modify a 2016 Justice Department (DOJ) merger settlement to allow the movie chain to reacquire 10 of the theaters it sold off in order to take over Carmike Cinemas, reported Bloomberg Law.
AMC sold the theaters to New Vision Cinemas, which is now undergoing liquidation in a Georgia state court because of the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Without the sale four years ago, the US$1.2 billion Carmike deal would have violated federal antitrust laws, the DOJ stated at the time.
“This relief is sought because of unforeseen and unique changed circumstances that have arisen from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” attorneys for AMC stated Thursday, August 27, in a filing with the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
Allowing AMC to acquire New Vision’s assets would be in the “public interest” because it would allow AMC to “enhance output by providing the opportunity for theatrical exhibitions to continue,” the company stated.
Full Content: Bloomberg
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