Blockbuster Inc, the largest US video rental chain, on Thursday said it has offered to buy competitor Hollywood Entertainment Corp for about $700 million, topping Hollywood's agreement with a private buyout firm. Blockbuster proposed $11.50 a share in cash, a 17 percent premium over Hollywood's closing price Wednesday and 12 percent higher than Hollywood's current offer from buyout firm Leonard Green & Partners.
In early Thursday trade, Hollywood shares surged 11 percent, while Blockbuster jumped 5 percent.
Blockbuster said while the companies have not had "substantive discussions" about a deal, it has "expressed an interest."
Green originally offered $880 million deal, but that hit a snag over financing problems. Hollywood later agreed to a reduced price of $10.25 a share, or $619.7 million.
Activist investor Dolphin Limited Partnership LP, which controls 1.9 million Hollywood shares, in October said it and other shareholders had a "negative view" of the Green deal.
Blockbuster said the proposed transaction would immediately add to its earnings per share and cash flow. Under the proposed deal, Blockbuster would also assume Hollywood's debt, for total consideration of about $1 billion.
Some analysts noted that Blockbuster and Hollywood have had problems with fierce competition from other rental outlets and retailers, as many customers are buying DVDs at relatively low prices, rather than renting them.
"To me this is a bad business buying a bad business," Stacey Widlitz, analyst at Fulcrum Global Partners, said.
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