In the wake of Investment Canada’s approval of the Sony/Loews-Cineplex Odeon merger, the question as to who will end up with the 51% control of Cineplex Odeon Films offers a myriad of possibilities and scenarios.

The company has made a commitment to Industry Canada that ‘control of Canadian film distributor Cineplex Odeon Films will be sold to eligible Canadian investors or parties in a reasonable amount of time,’ says Peter Caskey, Industry Canada director, investment review.

Potential buyers are offering a chorus of ‘no comments’ and sources at cof, including senior vp Bryan Gliserman, are saying only that cof will remain a standalone operation that is ‘vibrant, viable and Canadian as to confidential commitments with Industry Canada.’

The particulars, however, are making for interesting distribution intrigue.

‘cof is an interesting property because it’s not going down the drain, they’re selling it because they have to not because they want to,’ notes Richard Paradis, new president of the Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters.

‘There are apparently people out in Vancouver who are interested and who think that they could broaden the base of distributors in the country,’ says Paradis. ‘There is also apparently interest in Toronto.’

Speculation referring to an existing distributor buying into cof has industry folk pegging Alliance the most likely candidate. With Cineplex Odeon’s 4% ownership of Alliance and the fact that Cineplex ceo Allen Karp as well as cfo and executive vp Ellis Jacob both sit on Alliance’s board of directors, ‘there would be some pressure to do the deal in-house,’ says one distribution source.

Other companies speculated to be in the running include Vancouver-based Lions Gate Entertainment (which also owns distributor cfp), and Toronto’s Atlantis Communications, currently without a feature film distribution unit.

Atlantis completed a $20-million equity financing offering just before Christmas and said in a prepared statement that it ‘intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to expand the company’s distribution activities by acquiring program libraries and through other investments, such as the recent acquisition of Ironstar Communications.’

For his part, Gliserman says a sale to an existing distribution company is ‘currently not what is anticipated.’

Another scenario making its way through the speculation mill is a buyout by the existing management of the company with the aid of financial backing.

‘I don’t see another company buying them. Their asking price wouldn’t be terribly high, so if I were the management I would be looking at getting some backing and buying the company,’ says one industry source, who as an employee of a competing company requested anonymity.

‘The management could buy in with a non-entertainment company, perhaps venture capital or somebody with deep pockets.’

As to the question of control of cof changing hands, Gliserman says, ‘It doesn’t necessarily have to change handsÉI can’t be more specific but we are not looking for exemption from the Investment Canada guidelines.’

He adds that ‘I’ve invested four years of my life coming back here and running this, and I’ve spent a lot of time and effort creating goodwill and fashioning an infrastructure that can deliver the goods. I’m not going to allow it to be diminished nor are the provisions that are currently being contemplated.’

Perhaps the most cynical scenario offered came from another source within the distribution/ exhibition industry who also requested anonymity. Citing various foreign companies’ decisions to set up office in Canada and distribute proprietary product such as PolyGram and more recently Dreamworks, which is now reportedly hiring staff including the head of another American studio’s Canadian office, the source suggested that cof could operate as a foreign distributor in Canada.

Paradis admits there is nothing stopping such a scenario, but former cafde head Dan Johnson says such an option is unlikely as it would make cof ineligible to distribute Canadian films and receive Telefilm Canada funding.

Gliserman says the investment in Canadian films will continue to be part of the cof mandate. ‘It’s something we do and enjoy doing and have made a decent business of.’

The last remaining mid-sized Canadian film distribution company, cof has about 25 staff stationed in Montreal (with sister company Les Films Cineplex Odeon), Toronto and Calgary. Gliserman says the library contains approximately 300 films.

cof has recently been distributing Cinepix Film Properties (cfp) English product and has a ‘relationship’ with Columbia TriStar. cof handled the Canadian release of Thom Fitzgerald’s The Hanging Garden and has upcoming releases planned for Fitzgerald’s Beefcake, Vincenzo Natali’s Cube and Gary Burns’ Kitchen Party. Recent Canadian acquisitions include the Rhombus productions of The Red Violin and Don McKellar’s directorial debut, Last Night.