AMC CEO says theater chain is going 'on offense' with its $2 billion in liquidity
- Armed with $2 billion in liquidity, the theater chain is seeking out new cinema leases, investing in upgrades to its current theaters, offering new payment options such as bitcoin and increasing the variety of its content offerings to include sports and pretaped concerts.
After enduring the pandemic disruptions of 2020, AMC Entertainment has staved off bankruptcy and is looking to do more than just survive in the next few years — the company's CEO Adam Aron says he is going on the offensive.
Armed with $2 billion in liquidity, which the theater chain garnered the from strategic stock sales in the last year, AMC is seeking out new cinema leases, investing in upgrades to its current theaters, offering new payment options such as bitcoin and increasing the variety of its content offerings to include sports and pretaped concerts.
"$2 billion is a nice cash hoard," Aron said on Tuesday on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." "It's the biggest we've ever had to play with, and as I said, we're the largest theater operator in the world, we're playing on offense."
After scooping up two of the highest-grossing Los Angeles-based theaters in July, AMC is in the process of signing for as many as 10 more locations.
To appease its new retail investors, of which there are millions, AMC plans to have technology in place by year-end to accept bitcoin for movie tickets and concessions if paid for online. AMC is also looking into ways to partner with other companies like GameStop to set up gaming events at its theaters.
"I look at these millions of individual investors, who really came on the scene in the last six months, they're the owners of my company," Aron said. "They don't work for me, I work for them. They're my bosses. ... We are certainly interested in the suggestions that are flowing to us from the owners of our company."