Ben-DutkaAfter an excellent holiday season, GameStop was primed to make another big move. And it came in the form of an acquisition: GameStop/EB has officially purchased the Southeastern-based games retail chain, Rhino Games from Blockbuster. Unfortunately, the attached price tag wasn't revealed, but it's gotta be substantial; Rhino has 72 stores in six states- Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Blockbuster chairman and CEO John Antioco had this to say about the transaction-
"Today's announcement is in line with our goal to maintain focus on our Blockbuster-branded assets. We wish the Rhino concept ongoing success under its new ownership, and while games remain an integral part of our Blockbuster business, we will continue to focus on growing our overall share of the video rental market both through our stores and through Blockbuster Total Access…"
As for the other side, which is always prompted for an announcement, that honor goes to R. Richard Fontaine, GameStop's chairman and CEO-
"The integration of the Rhino group into the growing portfolio of GameStop stores will result in operating synergies while being accretive to earnings. The location of most Rhino stores do not overlap existing GameStop sites, and primarily serve secondary and tertiary markets where we have been very successful. Furthermore, the Rhino business model, and a very game oriented management team, will fit seamlessly into the GameStop culture."
Well, that's the point of big business, we assume. And provided both parties come away happy, everybody wins.
