DALLAS, May 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) issued the following statement today in response to the announcement by Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE: CC) that it has agreed to allow Blockbuster to conduct due diligence in preparation for a possible bid for the company. Blockbuster had previously offered to acquire Circuit City for at least $6.00 per share in cash, subject to due diligence.
"We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Circuit City to conduct due diligence and further explore a possible merger between our two companies. We continue to believe this combination would create significant cost and operating synergies therefore unlocking substantial value for our shareholders. While it is our hope that the due diligence process will reinforce both the strategic and financial rationale behind the deal, we are committed to only doing a transaction that provides substantial benefits for our shareholders."
About Blockbuster
Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI)(NYSE: BBI.B) is a leading global provider of in-home movie and game entertainment, with more than 7,800 stores throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia. The company may be accessed worldwide at http://www.blockbuster.com/.
Forward Looking Statements
This release includes forward-looking statements related to our operations and business outlook, our financial and operational strategies and goals, and our financial and operational strategies and goals for the combined company. Specific forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current intent, belief, expectations, estimates and projections regarding our company, our industry and the proposed combination with Circuit City. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may vary materially from what is expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to vary materially include, among others: (1) consumer appeal of our existing and planned product and service offerings, and the related impact of competitor pricing and product and service offerings; (2) overall industry performance and the accuracy of our estimates and judgments regarding trends impacting the home video industry; (3) our ability to obtain favorable terms from suppliers, including on such matters as copy depth and uses of product; (4) the studios' dependence on revenues generated from retail home video and their related determinations with respect to pricing and the timing of distribution of their product; (5) the variability in consumer appeal of the movie titles and games software released for rental and sale; (6) our ability to comply with operating and financial restrictions and covenants in our debt agreements and any adverse publicity relating thereto; (7) our ability to respond to changing consumer preferences, including with respect to new technologies and alternative methods of content delivery, and to effectively adjust our offerings if and as necessary; (8) the extent and timing of our continued investment of incremental operating expenses and capital expenditures to continue to develop and implement our initiatives and our corresponding ability to effectively control overall operating expenses and capital expenditures; (9) our ability to effectively and timely prioritize and implement our initiatives and to timely implement and maintain the necessary information technology systems and infrastructure to support our initiatives; (10) our ability to capitalize on anticipated industry consolidation; (11) the application and impact of future accounting policies or interpretations of existing accounting policies; (12) the impact of developments affecting our outstanding and any future litigation and claims against us; (13) shifts in strategy in connection with recent changes in the composition of our key management; (14) our ability to achieve the revenue and cost synergies in a combination with Circuit City, including as a result of the factors outlined above, (15) the availability and nature of financing for our proposed combination with Circuit City and (16) other factors, as described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 6, 2008. This cautionary statement is provided pursuant to Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward- looking statements in this release are made only as of the date hereof and we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason, even if new information becomes available or other events occur in the future.
CIRCUIT CITY SHAREHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ ANY PROXY STATEMENT REGARDING THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION IF AND WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE BECAUSE IT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. BLOCKBUSTER AND ITS DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS MAY BE DEEMED TO BE PARTICIPANTS IN THE SOLICITATION OF PROXIES IN RESPECT OF THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION BETWEEN CIRCUIT CITY AND BLOCKBUSTER. CIRCUIT CITY SHAREHOLDERS WILL BE ABLE TO OBTAIN A COPY OF ANY PROXY STATEMENT, AS WELL AS OTHER FILINGS CONTAINING INFORMATION ABOUT THE PARTIES (INCLUDING INFORMATION REGARDING THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROXY SOLICITATION AND A DESCRIPTION OF THEIR DIRECT AND INDIRECT INTERESTS, BY SECURITY HOLDINGS OR OTHERWISE), FREE AT THE SEC'S WEBSITE AT WWW.SEC.GOV OR FROM BLOCKBUSTER AT WWW.BLOCKBUSTER.COM.
SOURCE: Blockbuster Inc.
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