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Hollywood Board Rejects Blockbuster Bid, Recommends Movie Gallery Merger

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 18, 2005 - 4:51am.

Portland, Ore. -- Hollywood Entertainment, the nation's second largest movie rental chain, has announced that its board of directors has rejected rival Blockbuster's takeover bid for the company, and advised its shareholders to do the same. The board said "the uncertainties and possible delays inherent in Blockbuster's offer outweigh the approximately 9.4% premium being offered by Blockbuster" over the merger proposed by Alabama-based Movie Gallery, the nation's third-largest chain. The Federal Trade Commission has given its approval to a potential Movie Gallery-Hollywood merger, while it continues to investigate antitrust concerns with Blockbuster's bid. "We are pleased that Hollywood's board has rejected the exchange offer proposed by Blockbuster and reaffirmed its recommendation that Hollywood shareholders vote to approve the merger with Movie Gallery," Movie Gallery said in a statement. The rejection of Blockbuster's bid seemingly paves the way for Movie Gallery, which operates mainly in rural markets, to acquire Hollywood's 2,000 Hollywood Video and 720 Game Crazy stores.

tags: Movies | Hollywood | Blockbuster Bid | Recommends |

Justice Dept. Task Force Recommends Expansion of U.S. Anti-Piracy Efforts

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 12, 2004 - 3:45am.

Los Angeles -- U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft was in Los Angeles on Tuesday to discuss the findings of a Justice Dept. task force, which recommends that the U.S. greatly expand its prosecution of piracy and copyright infringement both at home and abroad, The Los Angeles Times reported. Citing data that estimates piracy costs U.S. businesses $250 billion a year, the task force recommended in its 100-page report that the number of federal prosecutors and agents assigned to intellectual property and anti-counterfeiting be increased, and that more be assigned to piracy hotspots like Hong Kong and Budapest. The task force also said that prosecutors should target those who circumvent copyright controls on movies, and recommended that Congress regulate peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. "A copyright owner should have some express remedy against such networks and other businesses, to the extent that they depend upon and intend for their customers to violate the owner's copyright," the report said. The Times reported that Aschcroft is expected to endorse and rapidly implement the task force's findings.

tags: Expansion | Recommends | Justice Dept. Task Force | U.S. Anti-Piracy Efforts |