AMC Stock Jumps 7% Following CEO's Reveal of a Surprising Gold- and Silver-Mining Acquisition The mine is one of North America's largest development sites.
By Amanda Breen
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., established in 1920 and currently the largest movie-theater chain in the world, has experienced some wild ups and downs over the course of the pandemic. Now a prominent "meme stock" and retail-investor darling that accepts Dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies, the company is writing yet another surprising chapter, announcing a significant investment in a gold- and silver-mining corporation.
The Kansas-headquartered theater giant has bought 22% of Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation and its 71,000 acre Nevada mine for $27.9 million. Canadian billionaire Eric Sprott invested an equal amount in the mining firm. Per AMC's statement, the mine boasts "some 15 million ounces of gold deposits and some 600 million ounces of silver deposits," and it is one of North America's largest development sites.
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Naturally, some may wonder what AMC's most recent acquisition has to do with its primary business — operating movie theaters. CEO Adam Aron addressed potential concerns in the company's statement, saying, "AMC Entertainment has had enormous success and demonstrated expertise in guiding a company with otherwise valuable assets through a time of severe liquidity challenge, the raising of capital and strengthening of balance sheets, as well as communicating with individual retail investors. It is all that experience and skill that we bring to the table to assist the talented mining professionals at Hycroft."
After the announcement of the Hycroft investment, AMC's stock jumped almost 7% in trading, and Aron canceled a scheduled appearance on CNBC due to legal concerns amid increased trading volume. Aron apologized for the cancellation via Twitter post.
I want to apologize to @jimcramer and @davidfaber, two extraordinary journalists, for canceling my CNBC interview with them today at the last minute. I am excited about our investment in HYMC, but there has been so much volume in that stock today, lawyers insisted I stay off air.
— Adam Aron (@CEOAdam) March 15, 2022
AMC stock was up nearly 6% as of 10:15 a.m. EST.
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