Circuit City investor says three firms looking to make bid for chain

Richmond Times-Dispatch
Published: June 24, 2008

Investor Mark J. Wattles said at least three companies are looking at Circuit City Stores Inc.’s financial records to determine if they want to make an offer for the Henrico County-based chain.

Wattles, president of Wattles Capital Management LLC, which owns 6.5 percent of the Circuit City, also said today that he expects an announcement from one of the three companies to be made within a month.

He declined to identified the three companies.

But implied that one of them was Blockbuster Inc., the movie-rental chain that has been looking at Circuit City’s books for about a month. Blockbuster proposed paying $6 to $8 per share in April to buy the retailer.

Circuit City said it would not talk about the process, spokesman Bill Cimino said.

Wattles made his comments after this morning’s annual shareholders meeting in which stockholders voted to expand the company’s board from 12 to 15 in order to add three directors originally nominated by Wattles.

Circuit City defused a proxy battle last month by agreeing to nominate the three directors and expand its board.

Circuit City is defending its turnaround efforts, saying it is on the right track to bring the consumer electronics retailer back to profitability.

The meeting, held at the University of Richmond, comes a day after shares hit a new 52-week low, dropping more than 21 percent.