Cineworld lenders looking to oust CEO in management shake-up - FT (updated)
31/03/2023 15:13
(Adds details on Ownby, background)
March 31 (Reuters) - The ex-CFO of Regal Cinemas is the
leading candidate to replace Cineworld Group Plc CINE.L CEO
Mooky Greidinger as lenders of the ailing cinema chain plot a
management shake-up following bankruptcy proceedings, the
Financial Times reported on Friday.
A potential management reshuffle would probably mean
Greidinger, Cineworld's CEO since 2014, would be forced to
relinquish control of his third-generation family business, the
report said, citing several people close to the company's top
management.
Cineworld declined to respond to a Reuters request for
comment.
The Greidinger family's stake, around a fifth of Cineworld's
stock that it owns through a family trust, is likely to be wiped
out along with that of other shareholders and unsecured
creditors when the bankruptcy process completes, the report
said.
David Ownby was Regal's CFO for nine years until 2018 when
the company was bought by Cineworld. He has been serving as an
adviser to Cineworld's highest priority creditors, which are
steering the bankruptcy process, the report said.
Cineworld, which has failed to find a buyer for the
world's second biggest cinema chain, had said in February it may
emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the first half
of this year.
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil and Anchal Rana in
Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
((abyjose.koilparambil@thomsonreuters.com; +917483275231;))