Cineplex Odeon Planning Merger With Loews

Cineplex Odeon Corp. said it may merge its movie theaters with Sony Corp.’s Loews Theater Group in a transaction that would strengthen its position in the United States and Canada. Terms weren’t disclosed. Analyst Chris Dixon of PaineWebber Inc. valued the transaction at between $350 million and $400 million. Current shareholders would remain in the combined entity, Cineplex said. Seagram Co.’s Universal Studios Inc. and Seagram Co-Chairman Charles Bronfman together own about two-thirds of Cineplex’s outstanding shares. Cineplex, based in Toronto, has 1,586 screens in North America. Loews has about 900 screens. If it were to occur, the acquisition would make Japan’s Sony one of the largest theater operators in the United States.