Even though few may associate Kiev with a great place to catch next summer's Harry Potter flick, IMAX (NASDAQ:IMAX) stuck to its globetrotting ways this week by announcing a pair of new installations in Ukraine. The deal comes just two weeks after IMAX announced that it's setting up another of its bigger-than-life theaters in St. Petersburg, Russia.

By the time the second Ukrainian unit opens, the IMAX empire will have nine operating theater locations throughout the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Many associate IMAX with visually mesmerizing documentaries, but its more recent push toward screening Hollywood releases on its enhanced platform has theater owners all over the world ringing up the company for new installations. Time Warner's (NYSE:TWX) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be an IMAX release next summer, just weeks after Sony's (NYSE:SNE) Spider-Man 3 receives a similar big-screen makeover.

IMAX's international popularity has apparently paid off well, now that the company has put itself on the bidding block. An article in Canada's Globe and Mail last week indicated that IMAX was soliciting a second round of buyout offers from four entities, including two private-equity firms, Japan's Sony, and a South Korean movie-theater chain.

The company should be able to shed a little more light on potential suitors later this month, when it announces its quarterly results for the period that ended in June. The stock appears to be in a holding pattern until investors get a little more clarity regarding whether the company will remain independent, or whether it has secured a bid it can live with.

IMAX was recommended last year to Motley Fool Rule Breakers newsletter subscribers. If there is a buyout, it won't be the first newsletter pick to be snapped up by a larger company. That's one of the benefits of buying small growth stocks: Larger rivals are always looking to gobble up the small fry to either spur growth or eliminate a future competitor.

Many IMAX investors may be hoping for a quick premium pop if a deal is announced, but IMAX on its own would afford shareholders the ability to ride a company that's revolutionizing the once-moribund cinematic industry with its sensory experiences. This battle will get decided one way or the other, and probably sooner rather than later.

Time Warner is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz loves to spot great things early. That's why he's been with The Motley Fool since 1995. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. The Fool has a disclosure policy. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.