BORDERS BOOKSTORE TO COME TO AN END

Borders is closing its 399 remaining stores and 11,000 employees are being laid off. In a statement, Borders Group President Mike Edwards said, “We were all working hard towards a different outcome, but the headwinds we have been facing for quite some time, including the rapidly changing book industry, e-reader revolution, and turbulent economy, have brought us to where we are now.”

Yesterday’s deadline for new bids on Borders came and went, with Phoenix-based venture capital firm Najafi “reluctantly” declining to submit a new bid and liquidation firms Hilco and Gordon Brothers the only bidders left at the table. It appears that discussions with Birmingham, Alabama-based bookstore chain Books-A-Million and other interested parties about last-minute arrangements just didn’t pan out.

DISH NETWORK WINS AUCTION FOR BLOCKBUSTER

Back in September, Blockbuster announced that they would file for bankruptcy protection. Since then, corporate executives weighed their options to try and save the company from the dustbin, but finally reserved themselves to putting it up for sale in the hopes that another company would buy it at auction. This morning those hopes came true: Dish Network stepped in to buy the company for a total of $228 million in cash.

It’s unlikely that Dish Network is interested in Blockbuster’s chain of 1,700 video rental stores and retail locations: it’s almost certain that Dish really wants to get their hands on Blockbuster’s kiosk business, streaming video services, DVD mailing services, and their agreements with movie studios and television networks that produce its most watched and rented content. It’s still very likely that many, if not all, of Blockbuster’s neighborhood rental stores will close.

Whether or not Dish Network sees fit to prop up Blockbuster’s retail business remains to be seen, but it’s clear that they’re not the most valuable part of the deal. It’s far more likely that Dish Network will tie in its own satellite television services with Blockbuster streaming packages. For example, new Dish Network customers may see promotions and discounts if they sign up for Blockbuster streaming or disc by mail rentals. By contrast, current Blockbuster subscribers may be prompted to switch to Dish Network for their traditional TV services, if they have them.

Additionally, Blockbuster has made a significant push in recent years towards the mobile space, entering partnerships with a number of smartphone manufacturers and wireless carriers to bundle their streaming video apps on new devices. Dish Network could also leverage those agreements to bring mobile television and streaming video to users much like Comcast does with its Xfinity TV mobile apps without having to build the apps themselves.

Ultimately, Dish Network’s acquisition of Blockbuster – if approved by the federal bankruptcy court handling the deal – could give the company a leg up against competitors like RedBox, which doesn’t have a traditional TV service to fight Dish Network with, and Netflix, which doesn’t offer either traditional TV or kiosks.

BLOCKBUSTER FOR SALE

Blockbuster, the once mighty video rental juggernaut has fallen on hard times. The lands it once dominated have been taken over by the likes of Netflix and Redbox and to a lesser extent sites like Hulu. The company recently filed for bankruptcy protections and is now listing itself for sale.

Bids for the company have started at $290 million. CEO Jim Keys put a positive spin on the whole thing and said this will "allow for the consolidation of ownership of the company to those with a clear and focused vision for Blockbuster's future." Could 2011 finally be the year Blockbuster hits the deadpool?

BORDER'S TO FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY

Borders Group, Inc. is finishing up preparations for a bankruptcy filing, according to "people familiar with the matter." The company's financial troubles have been no secret as of late, and those same people familiar with such matters say that the filing could come as early as next Monday, which will be followed by the closure of roughly 200 of its brick and mortar stores, and plenty of job losses. Borders has struggled with its digital presence, including its lack of e-reader (the Kobo partnership came pretty late in the game and isn't really on the same level as Barnes and Noble's Nook or Amazon's Kindle), and its failure to snag a significant market share of online sales. The people familiar with the matter caution that the filing could be delayed by a few days, however, so we'll have to sit on the edges of our seats until sometime next week, probably. Hit the source for more financial details.

BLOCKBUSTER FILES CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY

 It is official, Blockbuster has filed for "pre-arranged" Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  It should come as no surprise since the rumors have been swirling around Blockbuster for months. The bankruptcy will allow Blockbuster to go from about $1 billion in debt to around $100 million.  According to the press release Blockbuster is evaluating its US store portfolio as part of the plan.  They currently have close to 3,000 stores and those will remain open during the Chapter 11 proceedings, operating as normal.  However, sources indicate that up to 1,000 of the stores could be liquidated. [Engadget]

BLOCKBUSTER TO FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY IN SEPTEMBER

According to several LA Times sources, Blockbuster will be filing for bankruptcy protections next month.  According to the sources Blockbuster's chief executive met with representatives of their major debt holders and  the six major movie studios to announce the companies decision.

Blockbuster is trying to restructure it's existing $920 million in debt and keep the movies coming in.  It is expected to close another 500+ of it's remaining 3,245 US stores.  Since 2008 Blockbuster has lost $1.1 billion.  It is expected that Blockbuster's senior debt holders will hold a significant portion of the company after bankruptcy is over.