Edwards Theatres Says Deal Is Near to Buy 4 Cinemas

Although Edwards Theatres says it is close to an agreement on the purchase of four movie houses from a rival theater chain, an official from Mann Theatres said the company is just “giving Edwards the courtesy of discussing” a possible sale.

The proposed acquisition includes the new Pierside Pavilion 6 in Huntington Beach, an eight-screen Rancho Niguel theater in Laguna Niguel, a four-screen theater in Brea Plaza and the single-screen Fremont Theatre in San Luis Obispo.

“It’s just fine-tuning in terms of an agreement,” said Jay Cooper, marketing director for Newport Beach-based Edwards Theatres Circuit Inc., Orange County’s largest theater chain.

He said the company expects to complete the purchase within two weeks.

But Ben Littlefield, vice president of operations for Mann Theatres Corp., said: “We are giving Edwards the courtesy of discussing this with them at their request, but no agreement has been made yet. If there had been an agreement, I would be happy to confirm it for you.”

He declined to discuss a possible sales price.

As it did with the Lido Cinema in Newport Beach, Edwards is planning to restore the Fremont Theatre to its original early 1940s Art Deco style, Cooper said.

Edwards now runs 275 screens in Southern California, including about 100 in Orange County.

The Pierside Pavilion theater in Huntington Beach has been open barely a month. Noise from the Golden Bear, a raucous rock music club that was located beneath the theater, delayed its opening until the third week in May, Cooper said. He said the building’s landlord did not renew the club’s lease and that it will probably be replaced by a comedy club.

Cooper said Edwards has plans to build 130 more theaters in Orange, Riverside and northern San Diego counties, among other areas.

Times staff writer Mark I. Pinsky contributed to this story.