AMC skyrockets 14% on report the company is nearing a deal to avoid bankruptcy

• AMC Entertainment is working on a refinancing deal that would help it avoid bankruptcy, Alexander Gladstone of The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
• Shares of AMC surged as much as 14% in early trading Wednesday.
• The company recently pushed back the opening date of its theaters, which were closed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
• Watch AMC trade live on Markets Insider.
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AMC Entertainment surged as much as 14% in early trading Wednesday after The Wall Street Journal's Alexander Gladstone reported Tuesday that the company is nearing a deal that would help it avoid a near-term bankruptcy, citing people familiar with the matter.

AMC's proposed deal would require bondholders to provide a $200 million loan and swap out their unsecured claims for new debt, according to the report.

The company is working with private-equity group Silver Lake on the deal, which would allow AMC to turn down a competing offer from other senior lenders including Apollo Management, The Journal reported.

Read more: 40 insiders reveal the meteoric rise of Silver Lake's Egon Durban, the tech-focused PE firm's No. 1 dealmaker who strong-armed his way to the top and is about to get $18 billion more to invest

The entertainment company has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced it to close its more than 1,000 movie theaters worldwide. At the end of June, AMC postponed reopening of its theaters until July 30 — later than previously hoped — following the shift in release dates of two major films.

AMC has shed 43% year-to-date through Tuesday's close.