Relativity Media files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Relativity Media has announced it filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

The move is intended to strengthen its balance sheet and recapitalize the company.

Relativity Sports, Relativity EuropaCorp Distribution -- the film marketing and distribution joint venture between Relativity and EuropaCorp -- and Relativity Education were not among the subsidiaries included in the filing.

The Chapter 11 process will enable Relativity to continue to operate while restructuring its finances, thereby preserving value for its stakeholders.

Relativity also announced that in conjunction with the filing, it is pursuing a sale process for the company under Section 363 of the bankruptcy code.

"Relativity continues to pursue its mission as a next-generation global media company, and we remain firmly committed to our film and television businesses. The actions we are announcing today will protect our valuable franchise and allow us to emerge as a stronger, more focused company," Ryan Kavanaugh, the company's chief executive officer, said in a statement Thursday. "Our board and management team explored a variety of options to refinance Relativity's debt, and we ultimately determined that the protection afforded by a court-supervised reorganization process will provide additional time and structure to achieve our financial and strategic objectives."

Relativity's films include Limitless, Mirror Mirror, Safe Haven, Beyond the Lights, The Social Network and The November Man, as well as the upcoming Masterminds.