FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., May 9 -- Blockbuster Entertainment announced Thursday it has acquired all retail operations of Video Chile, Blockbuster's Chilean franchisee, for an undisclosed price. The assets include operations of more than 50 stores under the Blockbuster Video and Errol's names.
Blockbuster also acquired Video Chile's interest in Video Argentina, which operates 22 stores. The latter transaction makes Video Argentina a wholly owned subsidiary of Blockbuster, which is part of entertainment giant Viacom Inc. 'This acquisition represents our confidence in both countries,' said Guillermo Rotman, Blockbuster's vice president for Latin America. 'As a franchisee, Video Chile has done an excellent job of establishing the Blockbuster brand in the market and providing our Chilean customers with a store in nearly every major neighborhood. 'We plan to finalize our ongoing growth of Blockbuster Video stores in Argentina in the near future.' There are currently more than 4,600 Blockbuster stores worldwide, including over 220 locations in 10 Latin American countries. Other nations with stores include Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Venezuela. Viacom bought Blockbuster for $7 billion in 1994 and has been trying to sell its music retail operations and TV producer Spelling Entertainment to pay down debt from the deal.
