China’s massive conglomerate the Wanda Group has reportedly sold off what amounts to its controlling stake in U.S. cinema exhibitor AMC Theatres after nearly ten years of holding it.
According to THR & Variety, AMC says in its annual report filed Friday with the SEC that Wanda sold all but 10,000 shares in the past week – netting $426.7 million – which followed on from selling off three tranches last month for $220 million.
One reason for this, beyond the obvious downturn in exhibition due to the pandemic, is the influx of Reddit traders who blew up the AMC stock back in January.
In the wake of that, Wanda traded in its Class B stock for Class A stock, giving up voting control but giving it the option to cash out. Wanda has also been shedding overseas assets and re-trenching in China in recent years.
Wanda previously held around 58.8% of the voting power of AMC’s stock, a number that dropped to 9.8% stock ownership as of March 3rd and now stands at around 0.002% this week.
