AMC Will Sell More Than 19 Million Shares To Payoff Loans Incurred From Recent Acquisitions

Theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. saw shares fall nearly 5% in premarket trade on Wednesday after the company said late Tuesday it was selling more than 19 million shares of the its class A common stock at $31.50 per share. AMC also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to buy up to an additional 2.9 million shares at the same price. AMC, which is owned by Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, said it expects to make $579 million on the public offering, which the theater operator plans to use to repay loans incurred from its acquisitions of Carmike Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group Holding AB. Citigroup, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays and Credit Suisse will serve as bookrunners for the offering. AMC shares are up more than 60% in the trailing 12-month period, outperforming the S&P 500 Index , up nearly 24%.