Movie theater chain AMC discloses government investigations

NEW YORK — Movie theater operator AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. disclosed Monday that it received two requests for documents from U.S. agencies relating to an investigation of anticompetitive conduct.

Shares of the company fell almost 2 percent in midday trading Monday. The company operates more than 4,900 screens in 347 movie theaters.

AMC said it received the separate requests for documents last week from the U.S. Department of Justice and the office of the Ohio attorney general. The company said the request from the Justice Department is in connection with an investigation under the Sherman Antitrust Act, which prohibits companies from anticompetitive behavior.

The documents requested relate to film clearances and some of its joint ventures, AMC said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company, based in Leawood, Kansas, said that it does not believe it has violated federal or state antitrust laws and is cooperating with the authorities.

A spokesman from the Justice Department and a spokeswoman from the Ohio attorney general office declined to comment.

Shares of AMC Entertainment fell 45 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $28.46 in midday trading Monday. They had fallen as low as $27.54 earlier in the session. Its shares have risen 26 percent over the past year.