National CineMedia today announced that its plan of reorganization has been confirmed by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. This milestone comes less than three months after filing, representing a swift and significant stride forward in the company's financial restructuring efforts. The company is expected to emerge from Chapter 11 on or around August or September.
Under the confirmed plan, the company will eliminate its debt through the equitization of its secured debt. With a significantly stronger balance sheet, NCM LLC will be positioned to bolster its market-leading position with the financial resources to bring cutting-edge innovation to its advertising partners, continue to build its best-in-class data and attribution platform, and invest in growth strategies.
Upon emergence, the company will maintain its existing corporate structure with National CineMedia serving as the manager of NCM LLC. Additionally, the company intends to enter into an approximately $55 million exit financing facility, which will be used to fund operations and growth initiatives. The existing management team will continue to lead the successfully reorganized company.
"Today’s announcement marks a major step forward in our financial restructuring, positioning the company for long-term success,” said Tom Lesinski, chief executive officer of NCM. “As we charge ahead toward emergence, we will continue to deliver our full funnel of advertising solutions, connecting brands with NCM’s young, diverse, and sought-after movie audiences. We extend our appreciation to our employees, customers, and partners for their unwavering support throughout this process and are excited to continue our work together in the future.”
Upon emergence, NCM LLC will maintain its dominant position in cinema advertising, serving more than 19,500 screens in more than 1,500 theaters, including the only three national cinema chains in the U.S. As the industry leader in data intelligence on the moviegoing audience, NCM will continue to effectively harness the massive reach, scale, and power of cinema to generate impactful business outcomes for advertisers.
National CineMedia www.ncm.com