Trimark Stock Leaps on Purchase Rumor

Something’s up with Trimark Holdings Inc.--or at least, that’s what some people rushing to buy the stock Tuesday must want to believe.

Shares of the Marina del Rey-based movie producer and home video distributor (ticker symbol: TMRK) soared $2.94, or 49%, to close at $8.94 on Nasdaq, after trading at a 52-week high of $9.97.

Volume surged to nearly 657,000 shares.

The rumor going around, apparently reported by a Variety correspondent on CNBC, was that Trimark is close to being bought by Lions Gate Entertainment for between $14 and $16 a share.

Trimark had no comment.

The company’s shares have been exceptionally volatile in recent months, after beginning to surge from the $4 level in January.

But Trimark stock is no stranger to volatility. The shares had rocketed from $2 to $9 in the winter of 1999, only to plunge again late last year.

The company is a small player in Hollywood. Its revenue totaled $67 million in the nine months ended March 31. Chairman Mark Amin has been paring debt to boost profit, and Trimark has been solidly in the black in recent quarters.

The company is currently in post-production with “After the Storm,” a film with Armand Assante and Benjamin Bratt. Trimark is in pre-production with “Carnivore,” a film by the writers behind “The Matrix.”

Among Trimark’s shareholders is Internet portal Yahoo, which owns about 9% of the firm. Yahoo got the stake when it acquired Broadcast.com, which owned the Trimark shares.