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    Movie theater chain AMC sells shares, raises $230.5 Million

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1235 Views
    The AMC Empire 25 theater reopens after COVID-19 closures, Friday, March 5, 2021, in New York. Movie theater chain AMC is selling 8.5 million shares to investment firm Mudrick Capital Management, raising $230.5 million and cashing in on the meme stock frenzy that has helped boost its stock price in recent months. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. said Tuesday, June 1 that it will use most of the proceeds for acquisitions of additional theater leases and to invest in its existing theaters to make them more attractive to moviegoers. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

    By Michelle Chapman, AP Business Writer

    --

    The movie theater chain AMC is raising $230.5 million through an 8.5 million share sale, cashing in on the meme stock frenzy that has sent its stock price up more than 1,100% this year.

    Theaters and other beleaguered industries like restaurants and concert venues are anticipating the return of crowds over the next few months with the massive U.S. vaccination effort ongoing. 

    John Krasinski's thriller sequel "A Quiet Place Part II" opened over the Memorial Day weekend to a pandemic-best $48.4 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

    All of Hollywood was watching those numbers for hints about what is in store for the delayed summer movie season. After largely sitting out the pandemic, or diverting to streaming platforms, a lineup of blockbusters are again queuing up. On tap are Warner Bros.' "In the Heights," Universals' "F9" and Disney's "Black Widow." 

    "With our increased liquidity, an increasingly vaccinated population and the imminent release of blockbuster new movie titles, it is time for AMC to go on the offense again," said AMC CEO Adam Aron said in a prepared statement Tuesday.

    But AMC is part of a Wall Street phenomenon that began this year pitting larger, institutional hedge funds against a cadre of online investors. Companies like GameStop and AMC have been shorted by hedge funds and other big investors, a bet that stock in the company will fall. 

    Smaller investors have instigated a "short squeeze" against those funds, pouring money into shares of those companies until larger funds are forced to sell off shares to cover money borrowed to buy them. 

    Shares of GameStop, another so-called meme stock, are also up more than 1,000% this year. That company took advantage of that price shift and sold 3.5 million of its shares in April. 

    AMC said Tuesday that the company will use proceeds from its share sale to invest in new leases and on improvements in existing theaters. 

    Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., based in Leawood, Kansas, jumped more than 21% before the opening bell. 

    Tags:AMC Entertainment Holdings



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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