Chicken Soup or the Soul Entertainment revealed in an 8-K filing to the SEC Friday that has secured time and financing from its primary lenders in hopes of avoiding bankruptcy.
The struggling corporate owner of the Redbox DVD rental kiosk business has secured $175 million in working capital, with $75 million being turned right back around to pay off its substantial debt.
The remaining proceeds will help Chicken Soup keep its operations going -- and settle some court beefs with its burgeoning ranks of angry vendors and programming partners -- with its lenders extending the forbearance period on its loans to September 30.
Also read: Chicken Soup Reports $637 Million Loss for 2023, Preps Investors for Bankruptcy
As part of the deal with its primary lenders, Chicken Soup also made changes to its board of directors, adding two independent directors with expertise in restructuring.
In its belated April 29 10-K filing, Cos Cob, Connecticut-based Chicken Soup reported a net loss of $636.6 million for 2023 versus $111.2 million in 2022. The company said that without the ability to somehow generate additional financing, it would "likely require us to diminish or halt operations and seek protection under applicable bankruptcy laws.”
Impacted heavily by the disruption caused to the theatrical content pipeline by COVID-19 and the Hollywood strikes, Redbox has shown some signs of recovery. The kiosk business saw a 66% increase in annual revenue in 2023 to $112.7 million.
