AMC Preferred Equity Units (NYSE:APE) shares are trading lower Monday alongside shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC) after the company entered into an equity distribution agreement.

At the beginning of August, AMC declared a special dividend in the form of APE, or AMC Preferred Equity units. One APE was distributed for each share of AMC class A common stock outstanding at the close of business on Aug. 15.

AMC has now entered into an equity distribution agreement to allow for the sale of up to a maximum of 425 million APE units.

The movie theater chain said the agreement is designed to provide significant flexibility in achieving AMC's goals over time. AMC intends to use the net proceeds, if any, primarily to repay, refinance, redeem or repurchase the company's existing indebtedness.

AMC is not obligated to sell any AMC Preferred Equity Units under the agreement and may at any time suspend solicitation and offers. The equity distribution agreement allows AMC to control the timing, amount and pricing of any future sales, subject to market conditions.

See Also: Looking At AMC Entertainment's Recent Whale Trades

APE Price Action: AMC Preferred Equity Units are down 4.61% at $3.42 at time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Katherine Bowman from Flickr.