SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s Wanda Group, the main shareholder of AMC Entertainment Holdings Ltd, has carried out a stock conversion to allow the sale of its shares in the cinema operator, a target of the recent WallStreetBets retail frenzy, AMC said in an exchange filing.
Wanda America Entertainment Inc, a unit of Wanda, converted its Class B common shares in AMC into Class A shares on February 1 “to allow the sale of its common shares,” AMC said in the document to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. United States on February 5.
The order did not provide details on the number of shares converted into Class A shares or whether Wanda sold any AMC shares. Wanda did not immediately return a request for comment.
AMC’s stock reached $ 17.25 on February 1, almost quadrupling from the previous week, as social media platforms like Reddit fueled frantic retail purchases in heavily sold stocks like AMC and GameStop.
AMC’s shares plunged 41% the next day and are now about 60% below the February 1 peak.
The trading frenzy fueled by social media has cooled in the past few days, as U.S. financial regulators examined the rise in stocks driven by GameStop’s Reddit.
Wanda, whose businesses range from real estate to entertainment, bought a majority stake in AMC in 2012 for $ 2.6 billion, in what was then the largest acquisition abroad by a Chinese private company.
In 2018, the once-acquisitive Chinese conglomerate reduced its exposure to the U.S. cinema operator amid Beijing’s tighter regulatory scrutiny over the expansion of Chinese companies abroad.
Wanda still holds control of AMC, according to the group’s website. Wanda also owns Hollywood production company Legendary Entertainment and Australian film chain Hoyts Cinema, the website said.
Reporting by Samuel Shen and Brenda Goh; edition by Richard Pullin