AMC takes second run at IPO

Will the second time be the charm?

Movie theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., owned by investors led by private equity firms J.P. Morgan Partners and Apollo Management, filed Wednesday to raise as much as $500 million in an initial public offering of stock.

AMC had planned a $789-million initial offering in May before withdrawing the issue after investors balked at the proposed $17-a-share IPO price.

A month later, J.P. Morgan and Apollo said AMC’s parent, Marquee Holdings Inc., would borrow $400 million to pay owners a dividend.

In the preliminary filing for the revived offering, the Kansas City, Mo.-based company didn’t specify a price or the number of shares to be sold.

Private equity firms are trying to recoup investments made in theaters a few years ago, when the industry was struggling.

Cinemark Holdings Inc. went public at $19 a share in April. Since then, the stock has traded mostly below that price, falling to a low of $15.70 on Aug. 3. It fell 8 cents Wednesday to $17.60.

Plano, Texas-based Cinemark was taken private by Madison Dearborn Partners and Quadrangle Group in 2004.

Regal Entertainment Group, which owns the United Artists, Edwards and Regal chains, also has been a lackluster stock this year. The shares, which slipped 32 cents to $21.18 on Wednesday, are down 0.7% year to date.