Viacom Gets Blockbuster Payday
Blockbuster (BBI Quote) stockholders will receive $5 per share as part of the video chain's spinoff from parent company Viacom (VIAB Quote), the companies said Friday.
The payment will result in a $738 million tax-free payoff to Viacom, which owns 81.5% of Blockbuster's stock.
Thursday's announcement comes four months after Viacom announced it would shed Blockbuster. The movie-rental chain's profitable yet shrinking business is suffering from competition from mass-market retailers, operators of cable systems and satellite TV services, and entertainment alternatives such as mail-order DVD rental firm NetFlix (NFLX Quote).
Bearish on the synergies between Blockbuster and other Viacom properties such as the Paramount movie studio, Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone has expressed an interest in taking the money tied up in Blockbuster and deploying it elsewhere. ...
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