After popcorn, the AMC cinema chain invests in mining

The AMC cinema chain, which benefited from the mobilization of small shareholders willing to support companies that are not interested in large investors, wants to use the money raised to diversify its business and after popcorn, is aiming at mining precious metals.

The head of the network, Adam Aron, acknowledges the inconsistency of the investment.

“It is clear that no one would normally think that the area of action of a cinema company extends to the mining of gold or silver,” he said in a statement.

But the small shareholders last year offered AMC a “$1.8 billion war treasure,” he recalls.

An army of small shareholders acquired shares in the company which, in the wake of the video game network GameStop, became in early 2021 one of the symbols of the rebellion against the powerful on Wall Street.

The group has already used some of the money raised to expand its network of movie theaters, add IMAX-sized screens or screens with improved Dolby Cinema type images and sound, launch NFT digital goods programs or invest in popcorn, Aron explained.

But AMC wants to use liquidity “to attack and grow the company,” he writes.

In this way, the group has purchased 22% of the shares of Hycroft Mining, a gold and silver mine located in the state of Nevada, which, according to some estimates, has 15 million ounces of gold and 600 million ounces of silver in reserves.

AMC has acquired share subscription bonds with a disbursement of $27.9 million in cash.

The firm partnered with Eric Sprott, a veteran of the precious metals industry, who has invested the same amount.

According to Aron, Hycroft is “exactly like AMC a year ago”: the company “owns rock-solid assets, but for different reasons, it has had to face severe and immediate liquidity problems”, which have brought down the value of its shares. With his experience, AMC can help you overcome this difficult period, he says.

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