AMC Entertainment CEO Resigns--update

By Lisa Beilfuss And Erich Schwartzel 

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., the country's second-largest movie theater chain, said Tuesday that Chief Executive Gerry Lopez will resign effective next month.

Mr. Lopez, who took the helm in 2009 after spending time at Starbucks Corp., is leaving to pursue another opportunity, AMC said. His departure is effective Aug. 6.

The board has appointed Chief Financial Officer Craig Ramsey as interim CEO and has formed a search committee to find a permanent replacement.

Lloyd Hill, audit committee chairman who is leading the CEO search, said Mr. Lopez took on the role "at a critical point in our history six years ago when AMC was in need of a strategic refocus." Mr. Lopez said he plans to bring his "passion for strategic refocus to another industry."

On a conference call with analysts Tuesday morning, AMC executives said Mr. Lopez was leaving for a CEO position at a company "that also needs a strategic turnaround" and is outside of the cinema industry, said Eric Handler, managing director at MKM Partners, who was on the call. A person who worked with Mr. Lopez earlier in his career recruited him to the new job, the executives said.

"There was no animosity on the call," said Mr. Handler. "There was no bad blood between Gerry and the board of directors."

AMC, based in Kansas and acquired in 2012 by China's Dalian Wanda Group, went public in 2013 after having put off initial public offering plans several times.

Over the past 12 months, shares in the company have soared 45%.

Some of Mr. Lopez's most prominent initiatives at AMC have prompted changes industry-wide. He instituted a costly renovation plan to hundreds of theaters that has boosted attendance and given rise to more dine-in or luxury cinemas nationwide. He has also been a champion of agreements known in the industry as "clearance" that allow theaters to show a movie exclusively in certain markets. That practice has prompted inquiries from the Department of Justice at AMC and its chief rivals, Regal Entertainment Group and Cinemark Holdings Inc.

Write to Lisa Beilfuss at [e-mail]

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