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Blockbuster Makes $1.35B Bid for Circuit City

Posted Apr 14, 08 7:53 AM CDT in Business 

(Newser) – Movie-rental chain Blockbuster went public today with an offer to buy struggling consumer electronics retailer Circuit City for between $6 and $8 a share, reports the Wall Street Journal. Blockbuster made the offer—worth up to $1.35 billion—in February, but said Circuit City hasn’t opened its books. Circuit City closed at $3.90 Friday.

Combining the two businesses would “capitalize on the growing convergence of media content and electronic devices," said a Blockbuster statement. Both companies have struggled, with Circuit City shares slumping 80% in the past year, reports Bloomberg. Blockbuster is predicting a first-quarter profit of $30 million after a $49 million loss a year ago.

Sources Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg

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A Blockbuster store is seen in Berlin, Vt. in this May 2, 2007 file photo.   (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, file)
Blockbuster CEO James Keyes poses in the corporate offices in Dallas, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007.   (AP Photo/David Pellerin)
Customers enter a Blockbuster video store in Dallas in this July 23, 2006 file photo.   (AP Photo/Ron Heflin, file)
A shopper passes a Circuit City store in Cheektowaga, N.Y., Wednesday April 9, 2008.   (AP Photo/David Duprey)
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