AMC Takes Stake In National CineMedia: What Investors Need To Know

A new filing from AMC Entertainment Holdings AMC on Tuesday shows the company has a 6.8% ownership stake in National CineMedia NCMI stock, or 5,954,646 shares.

There’s more than meets the eye here, with several movie theater companies having a stake in the success of the company.

The Details: The news comes as AMC likely redeemed its membership units in the company and turned them into common shares. The company previously did this on March 23, 2021 when it redeemed 1,390,567 membership units for common stock.

A 10Q filing from National CineMedia showed that AMC owned 5,954,646 membership units of National CineMedia, which means it likely redeemed its remaining membership units and also sold its common shares that were redeemed in 2021.

National CineMedia owns 47.4% of NCM LLC as of March 31, 2022. The remaining ownership of the company is owned by movie theater operators Cinemark Holding CNK and Regal at 25.4% and 23.7%, respectively, as of March 31, 2022.

Membership units are exchangeable for common stock on a one-for-one basis.

Related Link: Exclusive: Hycroft Mining CEO Talks AMC Investment, Unlocking Value For Shareholders And What's Ahead 

Why It’s Important: While the ownership stake in National CineMedia could be similar to AMC taking a stake in mining company Hycroft Mining Holding Corp HYMC as a way to diversify its business, the ownership stake in National CineMedia isn’t really a new stake, but more of a transfer of owning a stake in a holding company versus holding common shares of a publicly traded company.

Time will tell if AMC sells its more liquid common shares of National CineMedia or holds the position in hopes of the movie theater sector bouncing back. 

National CineMedia is the owner of Noovie, a preshow movie theater offering that offers programming, advertisements and trivia. The service reaches over 700 million moviegoers a year and has over 4.5 million downloads of its app.

National CineMedia has its services offered in over 1,700 theaters covering more than 21,000 movie screens.

The company reported first quarter revenue of $35.9 million up 565% year-over-year. National CineMedia could benefit along with movie theaters with return of moviegoers and strong lineup of blockbuster 2022 titles.

“The quarter also marks our fourth straight quarter of meaningful year-over-year increases in advertising revenue,” National CineMedia CEO Tom Lesinski said.

“With the launch of NCMx, a state-of-the-art data management and analytics platform, a promising summer movie slate and a successful series of upfront meetings in advance of the start of the television upfront selling season, we are well positioned for significant revenue growth over the next several quarters.”

NCMI Price Action: Shares of National CineMedia were trading 6.9% higher at $1.55 late Wednesday morning, according to Benzinga Pro.