Despite the rumors of its demise, Blockbuster Inc. is willing to put more money into the video rental enterprise. Blockbuster said on November 11 that it expressed its interest in the number 2 rental chain, Hollywood Video. The deal was worth about $700 million. There have been no talks yet, however, because Hollywood is currently involved in a deal to let its chairman and CEO take the company private.
Blockbuster considered buying Hollywood Video in 1999, but the FTC would not allow the name change of the Hollywood Video stores to Blockbuster. Because the video rental business has expanded into DVD and game rentals and sales, some say the conversion of Hollywood's 1,920 movie rental stores and 600 Game Crazy shops may be better received this time around. Blockbuster currently has approximately 9,000 stores operating in the worldwide.
Posted by franchiselawblog at November 11, 2004 06:23 PM