DISH Network has won the bankruptcy court auction to acquire most of the assets of beleaguered movie rental chain Blockbuster. Other bidders had reportedly included South Korea’s SK Telecom, a consortium led by activist shareholder and Blockbuster debt…
DISH Network has won the bankruptcy court auction to acquire most of the assets of beleaguered movie rental chain Blockbuster. Other bidders had reportedly included South Korea’s SK Telecom, a consortium led by activist shareholder and Blockbuster debt holder Carl Icahn, and a ‘stalking horse’ bidder comprising a number of the company’s hedge fund creditors.
While DISH’s winning bid values Blockbuster at approximately US$320m, the satellite broadcaster will only pay US$228m in cash after certain adjustments such as available cash and inventory. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2011.
