STUDIOS MAY BUY MANN; WARNER, PARAMOUNT CONSIDER DEAL FOR THEATERS.Byline: Dave McNary Staff Writer Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . and Paramount Studios are considering a deal to buy the beleaguered be·lea·guer tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing, be·lea·guers 1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems. 2. To surround with troops; besiege. Mann Theatres, the Daily News has learned. The Encino-based chain of 54 theaters in California and Colorado, including the Chinese Theater in Hollywood and the Village in Westwood, filed for bankruptcy three weeks ago through its WestStar Cinemas parent and warned it might close underperforming sites. WestStar, which bought the chain in 1997 from the two studios for $165 million, identified debts offsetting more than $100 million in assets listed in the bankruptcy filing. It hired turnaround Turnaround A situation where a company that has had poor performance for an extended period of time experiences a positive reversal. Notes: A speculator may profit from a turnaround if he or she accurately anticipates the improvement of a poorly performing company. specialist Michael Solomon Michael Solomon (born September 29, 1954 on Trinidad) is a retired athlete from Trinidad and Tobago who specialized in the 400 metres and 4 x 400 metres relay. He attended University of New Mexico, New Mexico, USA. , who said at the time that his key task would be improving performance so a sale would be more likely. The possible deal was first disclosed by The Hollywood Reporter on Monday. The studios and WestStar had no comment, but involved sources requesting anonymity confirmed Monday that the studios, which owned Mann for 11 years through their Cinamerica partnership, are developing a plan to buy back the chain. WestStar put Mann up for sale in January but found no takers for the chain that has lagged behind rivals in opening new facilities in recent years. Buying Mann could enable the studios to compete more effectively at a time when they are facing massive changes in how movies are shown to customers. Exhibitors have been consolidating amid massive spending on new theaters and have been pressuring studios for a bigger share of box office revenue. A 1948 consent decree A settlement of a lawsuit or criminal case in which a person or company agrees to take specific actions without admitting fault or guilt for the situation that led to the lawsuit. A consent decree is a settlement that is contained in a court order. ordered Hollywood studios to divest To deprive or take away. Divest is usually used in reference to the relinquishment of authority, power, property, or title. If, for example, an individual is disinherited, he or she is divested of the right to inherit money. themselves of theaters, but the federal government began allowing movie production and theater ownership to co-exist during the 1980s. Loews Cineplex is 51 percent owned by Sony Corp. and 26 percent owned by Universal, while Sumner Redstone's National Amusements National Amusements, Inc. is a privately owned media and entertainment company based in Dedham, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1936 as the Northeast Theatre Corporation by Michael Redstone. operates a theater chain and owns a significant stake in Viacom, Paramount's parent. CAPTION(S): photo PHOTO (color) Tourists throng the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, among 54 Mann theaters that Warner Bros. and Paramount Studios may buy. Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer |
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