Quicksummer Entertainment LLC

Hollywood Video Sold for $888 Million

Hollywood Video, the nation's second largest video chain behind Blockbuster, is being acquired by an alliance composed of Los Angeles buyout firm Leonard Green & Partners and the video chain's founder, Mark Wattles. They have agreed to pay $14 a share for the company -- about $888 million. The sale comes at a time when the video chains are facing increasing competition from DVD sales, Internet downloading, and DVD mail-order operators. But Tom Adams, president of Adams Media Research in Carmel, told today's (Tuesday) Los Angeles Times, "The worst is over as far as the impact of sales on rentals." And John Baumer of Leonard Green noted that the shake-out in the business had in fact created the opportunity to buy the company, especially given the fact that just five years ago, stock in the company was trading for $25 a share.
2004-04-20 23:02:36