AMC’s new ‘APE’ units are a meme-friendly way for the theater chain to raise cash fast.

$AMC Entertainment(AMC.US)$ $AMC Preferred Equity Unit(APE.US)$
The theater chain’s new preferred share class — called “APE” units — begin trading on Monday after being distributed to shareholders as a dividend last week.
The special dividend seems to be in keeping with CEO Adam Aron’s aggressive marketing efforts to appeal to the retail investors who call themselves “Apes.”

The new APE units are a corporate finance tool at their core because the shares create a new way for AMC to raise money.

The APE units were distributed as dividends on Friday. In some ways, the unusual move resembles a stock split, where investors get additional stock proportional to every one share they previously owned. Each APE unit may be converted in the future to one common share of AMC, making this move like a 2-for-1 split.