Amazon's IMDB acquires Lee's Movie Info in all-stock deal
April 1, 2006 04:07:59 (ET)
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) purchased the
privately held entertainment site Lee's Movie Info (http://www.leesmovieinfo.com)
in an all stock deal according to Amazon's Chief Information Officer Richard
Dalzell. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, however, an insider
close to negotiations reported that the deal was in the works for several
months and was worth around $2.6 million based on Amazon's market close on
Friday.
The acquisition reignites rumors that Amazon will be using IMDB to launch
a new direct-download movie service. Adam Goldberg, an analyst at USB,
believed that Lee's Movie Info would be used to help bolster the new service
using their patent-pending content service Helio-XR. Such a service
would be compete directly with services like MovieLink and Netflix (Nasdaq:
NFLX).
Just last summer, Amazon acquired CustomFlix, a technology company that
allowed movies to be downloaded and then burned onto a DVD while ensuring
robust copyright protection. Goldberg acknowledged that it unknown how
Helio-XR will fit into this strategy.
Long-time CEO and founder Lee Tistaert announced that he would be
stepping down from active operations and relocating to Amazon's Hawaii division.
The day-to-day operations would be managed by the remaining staff and an influx of IMDB staff.
In pre-market trading, AMZN shares rose 2 cents to trade at $36.55.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc., a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as beauty, health and personal care, jewelry and watches, gourmet food, sports and outdoors, apparel and accessories, books, music, DVDs, electronics and office, toys and baby, and home and garden.
Amazon.com and its affiliates operate seven retail Web sites: www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.ca, and www.joyo.com.
As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.
Amazon.com Forward Looking Statement
This announcement contains statements made on April 1st within the meaning of Section FA-K3 of the Securities Act of 1929 and Section F-00-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1998. Actual results will differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to reading articles posted on the first day of April, significant amount of indebtedness, competition, management of growth, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions, and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, consumer trends, inventory, limited operating history, government regulation and taxation, fraud, and new business areas. April Fools.
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