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Sunday, November 8, 
5:16 am

Rabble Babble: What's next for Circuit City?

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Circuit_City_storefront.jpgBlockbuster Inc. has dropped its $1.4 billion bid for Circuit City Stores Inc., prompting the target's shares to plunge below $2.20. The announcement has fueled rumors that the electronics retailer's auction is in trouble, and shareholders are chattering about its alternatives.

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Now there are two big questions investors are asking:

  • Will Carl Icahn, who claimed he might help Blockbuster finance the deal, buy Circuit City?
  • Does Circuit City really does have any interested bidders waiting in the wings?

Last week investor Mark Wattles reportedly said the company may have several interested bidders and an agreement could come within a month. Wattles is a 6.5% shareholder in Richmond, Va.-based Circuit City through his investment fund Wattles Capital Management LLC.

Circuit City CEO Philip J. Schoonover said in a release, "Our exploration of strategic alternatives is intended to serve the interests of our shareholders by considering every possible alternative to enhance shareholder value. The board's review was not dependent on Blockbuster's participation."

On a Google discussion board, a member called nerdsoft said: "Lets face it CC is going to be worth less than JPChase's lowball pre-offer of BSC, CC will be Sub-$2"

Yahoo! user, dodostall said: "If CC is real there will be plenty of buyers (private) will scoop up at these prices, BBI refused because CC has bad books"

Another Yahoo! user, ranmcco, said: "BBI gave CC a classic bear hug. CC didn't see the knife. Classic oil company move; 'Ohhh, let me see your books just one little time.' "

One of the more interesting posts comes from Google discussion board user Eligible Bachl who said: "Someone should buy them for a stand alone purpose for marketing say Walmart or SHLD for the electronics section of Sears and KMarts."

If there are any interested bidders out there for Circuit City like Wattles says, the price will most likely be less than the Blockbuster bid now that the stock has sunk. - Maria Woehr





Comments

From: Gary Mall,

Mark Wattles is a typical stupid activist who thought he was buying cheap and now is stuck way under water...thinking he understood value...Ha! He is not only under water but out of his depth.
His remarks to the press were a total fabrication trying to get the stock back up - according to people close to the deal. Same with Big Bad Carl Icahn who jumped on the bandwagon just as the wheels were coming off...out of his depth on this one...jumping in with both feet in his mouth saying he'd finance two dinosaurs mating while the ice age cometh...Carl, as you seeth, say SENILITY NOW!!! By the way, Carl, your initials "BC" is the era you belong in now...You never had a clue how to run a company anyway, why not hang it up old man??? The only people circling around this one are the vultures. Meanwhile, Blockbuster wanders in search of relevance. Carl stopped taking their calls...


From: Bobbie Bender,

What has changed in the "market environment" that is materially different than when the Blockheads at Blockbuster made their ridiculous proposal? Not much! The environment already was terrible. This was corporate idiocy in the extremme supported by an old senile man Icahn...RIGHT!!! Icahn is still nothing but a greenmailer and as he comes close to his own "term limits" gets more short sighted all the time. He's more of a dinosaur than Blockbuster. And Wattles? Now there is a real loser! Who the hell is he anyway? Nobody from nowhere.


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