Vancouver: Investors jumped on Trimark Holdings shares again June 7, the day after Vancouver-based Lions Gate Entertainment confirmed its $50-million cash-and-share purchase of the Marina Del Rey, Calif.-based producer/ distributor.

Trimark’s nasdaq-listed shares increased us$0.94 to us$9 per share at one point in the day’s trading.

‘Trimark has a strong video operation, a library of over 650 films, an active broadband operation and a great track record for producing and distributing specialty and genre films,’ says Jon Feltheimer, lge ceo since March.

Despite his enthusiasm, investors are more reserved in their views of lge shares. Even on official word of the deal, lge improved only $0.10 per share to $3.95 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The stock has traded as high as $6.90 per share in the past year.

The acquisition, however, does provide evidence of Feltheimer’s efforts to create value.

‘We would like to produce more films such as American Psycho, where we control our own destiny by greenlighting our own pictures,’ says Feltheimer from his office in Los Angeles.

Formerly with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Feltheimer was instrumental in raising us$33 million in January for lge from sbs Broadcasting, Paul Allen of Vulcan Ventures, Capital Research and Fidelity. In March, he took over from company founder Frank Giustra, who remains lge’s chair, working out of the company’s head office in Vancouver.

Feltheimer’s initial impact on the company’s performance is not yet known, primarily because the company’s annual report for fiscal 2000 is not yet public. However, one constant that will not likely change in the near future is lge’s investment in Mandalay Pictures, which continues to be a serious drag on the company’s performance and investor morale.

Third quarter tallies (ended Dec. 31) show that lge earned nearly $3 million (10 cents per share) on revenue of $10.7 million, but year-to-date figures show a loss of $1.6 million (five cents per share) on revenue of $32 million. Losses incurred by Mandalay Pictures continue to take their toll on the overall corporation, which is contracted to pick up the non-cash operating losses of the feature film producer. Earnings for the third quarter and the first nine months would be 14 cents per share and eight cents per share, respectively without Mandalay.

Other than the Nov. 19 release of Sleepy Hollow, which earned us$101 million at the box office, Lions Gate’s features (either through distribution or production) have been less successful. Dogma, released Nov. 12, earned only us$31 million. The high-profile American Psycho had earned only us$14 million by the end of May. The Big Kahuna had earned just us$1.9 million in its first two weeks in theatres.

At Mandalay, Enemies of the Gate, starring Jude Law, Ed Harris and Joseph Fiennes, is in post-production. The Score, with Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando and Ed Norton, has begun shooting in Montreal.

Feltheimer is also predicting more emphasis on Lions Gate Television. While the quirky one-hour Hope Island (Paxnet – pax tv), shot at Britannia Beach, has been cancelled, its series about troubled teens, Higher Ground, a Fox Family Channel show (in conjunction with wic), may yet get a reprieve. This is partially due to cast member Hayden Christiensen, who has been cast as Anakin Skywalker in the next Star Wars feature and has stimulated new viewership for the tv series.

Production began May 2 on the latest pax tv series Mysterious Ways, 22 one-hours with Adrian Pasdar (Profit) and Rae Dawn Chong (Quest for Fire) who investigate inexplicable phenomenon. The pilot is scheduled to premier August 22.

Despite comments to Playback by Giustra in March suggesting the company will trim offices to make the company leaner, Feltheimer says there are currently no plans to consolidate its offices as part of its strategy to streamline operations.

‘As we grow the company, we will continue to look at the best ways to communicate and to streamline our activities, and that includes looking at the five offices that we have, but at present, we have no plans to consolidate them,’ says Feltheimer.