Group Buys 21% Stake in Cineplex

A shareholder group including Canadian billionaire Charles Bronfman said Tuesday that it acquired a 21.1% stake in Cineplex Odeon Corp., the second-largest motion picture exhibitor in North America.

The group said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it bought the stake for investment purposes only.

In addition to Bronfman, co-chairman of the Seagram Co. liquor concern, the group also includes two Montreal-based investment firms--Pentrust Holdings & Co. and Claridge Investments & Co.

Toronto-based Cineplex has rapidly built through a series of acquisitions a movie screen empire that holds an estimated 9% of the North American market. It operates nearly 1,500 screens, with about 1,000 in the United States.

MCA Inc., the huge Universal City entertainment concern, has a 50% interest in Cineplex.