Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinger and his management team have secured a combined payout approaching $35m from the exhibitor’s lenders and will depart after the company emerges from Chapter 11 proceedings next month, The Financial Times reported today.
Cineworld’s creditors are planning to install a new management team when they take control of the company when the bankruptcy process completes in July, according to the FT.
The paper said that the lenders have committed to pay Greidinger, his brother and deputy CEO Israel Greidinger, finance head Nisan Cohen and chief commercial officer Renana Teperberg between $30-35m in cash in the year following their exit.
The Greidinger, whose family trust owned roughly a fifth of Cineworld, are said to be in line for the vast majority of the cash.
Cineworld declined to comment to Screen about the report.
Cineworld’s road to bankruptcy began with heavy borrowing to fund its growth. The company loaded up on debt to fund the acquisition of cinema chains such as the US’s Regal Cinemas and the UK’s Picturehouse, helping it to amass more than 9,000 screens in 10 countries. Its debts were reported at $5.2bn on June 30, 2022, not counting lease liabilities.
The company’s finances were devastated by Covid, which closed theatres, delayed major film releases and accelerated the shift to streaming and left Cineworld running out of money to pay its debts. Revenues fell from $4.4bn in 2019 to $1.8bn in 2021, while group adjusted EBITDA fell from $1bn to $455m.
A $959m court judgment against Cineworld for pulling out of a deal to buy Canada’s Cineplex chain — which Cineworld is appealing — only added to the exhibitor’s liabilities.
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