AMC is set to almost double the amount of its "APE" special preferred share dividends in circulation, reigniting worries that the continued issuance of the tool could further dilute the company's main shares.
Shares in both AMC and APE $(APE)$ were falling on Monday, with AMC down 3% in U.S. morning trading and APE tumbling 8%.
AMC issued almost 517 million APE units to its class A common stockholders in August as a special dividend -- a move that CEO Adam Aron called "perhaps the single biggest action we will take in all of 2022 to fundamentally strengthen AMC." Each unit represents an interest in 1/100th of a share of the company's Preferred Stock, giving a unit the same voting rights as one share of the company's common stock.
The issuance of APE, which matched the number of AMC shares outstanding, was met with mixed feelings in the market. While the units offer the embattled company a new way to raise capital, worries centered on the likelihood that issuing more APE units would exacerbate share dilution. AMC issued millions of shares in 2021 as it simultaneously hemorrhaged cash amid the Covid-19 pandemic but found its stock the subject of intense retail-investor interest.
Those same worries around dilution are likely taking hold today. AMC, in a Monday Securities and Exchange Commission filing, said it was taking the "natural next step" from the initial issuance of APE, entering into an agreement with Citi to sell up to 425 million APE units over an unspecified time period. A total of 4.5 billion APE units beyond the initial issuance can be sold by the company, subject to board authorization.
"The Company intends to use the net proceeds, if any, from the sale of AMC Preferred Equity Units primarily to repay, refinance, redeem or repurchase the company's existing indebtedness (including expenses, accrued interest and premium, if any) and otherwise for general corporate purposes," AMC said in its Monday filing.
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