Report: Blockbuster seeking bankruptcy financing

[The Straight Story]

Report: Blockbuster seeking bankruptcy financing

Video rental giant Blockbuster Inc. is negotiating with bondholders to obtain $150 million in debtor-in-possession financing that would allow the company to operate in bankruptcy, according to unnamed sources cited in a Wall Street Journal article.

"We continue to have ongoing constructive dialogue with, and received several proposals from, various parties including debtholders, equity holders, and strategic investors," said a spokeswoman at Dallas-based Blockbuster (NYSE:BBI), in a statement to the Dallas Business Journal.

A recent securities filing places Blockbuster's debt at around $895 million — a concern that has prompted analysts to follow developments at the company closely.

Among them is Edward Woo, a research analyst at San Francisco-based Wedbush Securities. He notes the video rental company said in security filings it has a $41.5 million interest and amortization payment to make within the course of the next several weeks.

http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2010/06/14/daily7.html

[Orrex]

1. I blame myself.

I never returned the copy of Good Will Hunting that I rented back in 1998.

Sorry about that, Blockbuster!

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. I take some of the blame - I went to Netflix

[TheCowsCameHome]

3. Nuts.

I had a store credit of $3.50 that I never redeemed.

Why wasn't I notifired that this was happening?

[Atman]

4. People still go to video stores?

Wow. Who knew?

.

[Scurrilous]

5. Alas...

:P

[cbdo2007]

6. This has been rumored for months and still nothing is really happening.

Talk about a company that run itself into the ground. I was thinking about buying some of the stock since it's down to 30 cents but just researched it the other day and they may be too deep in the sh*t to be salvaged. They have major competitors beating them in every caveat of their business and BB has no real ingenuity to realistically compete.

[Initech]

7. Most of the video stores where I live have gone bankrupt.

[charlie]

8. Hollywood Video/Movie Gallery tried that operating-bankruptcy track

a few months ago. They couldn't make it work and liquidated in late April.

Blockbuster doesn't stand a chance, either. I'm surprised they've hung on this long.

[taught_me_patience]

9. Netflix inflicted the wound and Redbox finished them off... n/t

[SlipperySlope]

11. Exactly.

Between netflix and redbox there was very little room left for Blockbuster's business model, AND they were too late to recognize the threat.

[cbdo2007]

13. The ONLY thing Blockbuster does have going for it though is pretty major....

Blockbuster Inks Deals With Studios; Restructuring Talks Continue

Blockbuster Inc. (BBI) said it inked two more deals with movie studios securing rights to rent movies from its stores and by mail the same day they are released for sale on DVD.

The deals with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. provide what Blockbuster late Tuesday called "new enhanced payment terms to Blockbuster."

Like a similar deal with Time Warner Inc.'s (TWX) Warner Bros. announced March 22, the new agreements ensure "a steady supply of top-rated movies" for Blockbuster, the movie-rental giant said in press release.

Rivals Netflix Inc. (NFLX) and Coinstar Inc.'s (CSTR) DVD-rental kiosk operator, Redbox Automated Retail, haven't reached similar agreements to date, and Blockbuster is hoping that will give it at least a month of exclusive access to studios' top movies, including Twentieth Century Fox's Avatar, due out April 22.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100407-705490.html

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So they have a 30 day advantage over any other source to rent movies AND they have the "Blockbuster" name which if marketed correctly could still be worth Million$$$ to them by itself. Those two reason are why I've thought about if it's possible for them to turn it around and I think that will depend on what happens with the big vote coming up to bring in that shareholder to the Board of Directors. Sometimes it takes an excentric (sp?) guy to come in and really shake things up to get the ball rolling.

[lpbk2713]

10. I have a B/B gift card around here somewhere.

I never used it. So that can put them back on the plus side. :eyes:

[MyNameGoesHere]

12. About time.

I know they were the first ones in that service but they missed the boat and didn't keep up. Now if only Novell would quit ..