When stock in Toronto-based IMAX surged 7% Friday morning, overseas media reported that the spike was due to interest in buying the global chain of large format movie theaters by Sony and possibly Disney.
That prompted a query from Canadian officials which led to the following statement from IMAX on Dec. 31 denying knowledge of anything that would trigger a sudden stock increase:
IMAX Corporation is responding to a request from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) on behalf of the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) following recent trading activity.
IMAX Corporation is not aware of any corporate developments to account for this activity. The Company’s policy is not to comment on rumors or speculation, and accordingly does not intend to comment further.
Disney officials denied the company’s interest to various media. Sony is expected to provide updates at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Wednesday about its partnership with IMAX and Discovery Communications on a 3D cable channel expected to launch in the first quarter of 2011.
Richard Gelfond and Bradley Wechster, former Wall Street investment bankers, bought IMAX in 1993 and took it public in 1994. They have made no secret of their interest in selling the company, having already tried to do so in 2000 and 2006.
— By Scott Hettrick