Movie Gallery is getting closer to being able to acquire Hollywood Entertainment Corp.
Movie Gallery today announced that the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act) has expired, indicating regulatory clearance of Movie Gallery’s planned acquisition of Hollywood Entertainment Corporation effective February 11, 2005.
“We are pleased with this important development and we believe that the Movie Gallery merger is the best option for Hollywood’s shareholders, employees and customers,” said Page Todd, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Movie Gallery. “Clearing the pre-merger review process confirms what we have said all along — Movie Gallery stores do not have any substantial overlap with Hollywood’s stores and therefore pose no risk to competition. In contrast, we believe that Blockbuster’s proposal poses significant regulatory risk, as more than 80 percent of Hollywood’s stores are in the same local market as a Blockbuster store.”
“We are confident that our all-cash acquisition of Hollywood provides greater closing certainty and will deliver concrete value to Hollywood shareholders sooner than Blockbuster’s highly conditional proposal,” Todd concluded.
The company noted that Blockbuster’s proposed exchange offer for Hollywood is still under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Unlike Movie Gallery, Blockbuster received a Request for Additional Information from the FTC in connection with its proposed acquisition of Hollywood.
Since Blockbuster’s proposal includes consideration in the form of Blockbuster shares, under the HSR Act, it must wait an additional thirty days after it has substantially complied with the FTC’s Request for Additional Information before it can move forward with its proposed offer unless either the FTC terminates the waiting period or a court refuses to grant a permanent injunction.
murdok | Breaking eBusiness News
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