AMC takes stock of buyouts
Co. looking for shareholder approval
The Kansas City, Mo.-based company recently underscored its intent to grow through acquisitions amid current industry consolidation ( Daily Variety, July 19). AMC already has made a $62.5 million cash offer for rival circuit General Cinemas
In a regulatory filing circulated Monday, AMC said it plans to seek shareholder approval at a Sept. 13 annual meeting for increasing to 200 million shares the company's current 45 million-share common stock pool.
Such a move would "better enable the company to take advantage of opportunities that may present themselves, such as future acquisitions of other companies or assets, and will also provide a potential source of financial liquidity to the company through sales of common stock or securities convertible into common stock," AMC said.
In April, New York-based investment firm Apollo Management acquired a 60% ownership stake in AMC for $250 million. The investment, which provided only a minority voting interest in AMC, gave Apollo 250,000 preferred shares which the firm can convert to as many as 35 million common shares at $7.15.
The firm has yet to convert any of the preferred shares but may not be in a hurry to do so. If Apollo executes such a conversion before April 20, 2006, the common shares thus acquired would need to be sold off.
Elsewhere in the AMC proxy statement, exhib revealed chairman and CEO Peter Brown won a 12% increase in salary in fiscal 2001 to $507,937. Brown, 42, also was awarded bonuses totaling $454,230, up fourfold from some $112,455 in bonuses paid in fiscal 2000.
