ITP SOCIAL MEDIA: BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY

EDITORS NOTE: Can't find those DVD's featured on "METAL AT THE MOVIES", try NETFLIX
(http://www.netflix.com/?mqso=80025836) as they will snail mail you those DVD's. BLOCKBUSTER and many indie movie rental stores are going out business and filing for bankruptcy as 3,000 BLOCKBUSTER STORES still exist.
FROM SAN FRANCISCO GATE:
Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Blockbuster Inc., the world's biggest movie-rental company, filed for bankruptcy after failing to adapt its storefront model to online technology pioneered by rivals such as Netflix Inc.

The company listed assets of $1.02 billion against debt of $1.46 billion on a Chapter 11 petition filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York. The company said it reached a deal with a group of bondholders on a plan of reorganization and secured a $125 million loan to finance operations.

"To preserve its three-decade long developed brand value, Blockbuster seeks a restructuring that permits a significant deleveraging of its business so that it can move forward at the digital clip at which its industry and competitors are currently running," Jeffery Stegenga, the company's restructuring officer, said in a court filing.

Sales at Dallas-based Blockbuster, with about 3,000 stores in the U.S., shrank in recent years while Netflix grew by renting movies online and through the mail, and Coinstar Inc. put Redbox DVD vending machines in supermarkets and drugstores.

The $125 million in secured financing from senior noteholders represents new cash availability. On an interim basis before final approval, $45 million would be available. The financing is to have a lien ahead of existing debt. The financing also calls for converting $250 million of existing secured debt into a new loan with a lien ahead of existing debt.

Largest Creditors

Under the proposed plan, there will be no recovery by the holders of the company's outstanding subordinated debt, preferred stock or common stock, according to the statement. Blockbuster anticipates it will pay something to unsecured creditors, court papers show. Blockbuster Video Italy Inc., Blockbuster International Spain Inc., Blockbuster Canada Inc. and nine other units also sought protection.

The company's largest trade creditor is Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment with a $21.6 million claim, followed by Warner Home Video Inc. with a claim of $19 million and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment with a claim of $13.3 million, according to today's filing. Among others waiting to be paid by Blockbuster are Coca-Cola Enterprises, which is owed $703,412, and the advisory firm Moelis & Co., owed $254,050.

The filing "provides the optimal path for recapitalizing our balance sheet and positioning Blockbuster for the future, as we continue to transform our business model to meet the evolving preferences of our customers," Chief Executive Officer Jim Keyes said in a statement today. Keyes owns almost 1.4 million shares and options on another 7.8 million shares.

Icahn Bonds

Billionaire Carl Icahn bought about one-third of Blockbuster's bonds as of Sept. 17, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Icahn, 74, a former director of the company, led a proxy fight in 2005 to put himself and two nominees on the board. Last March, he cut his stake in the company to 3.5 percent by selling stock. He left the board in January. He is working with a group of senior creditors in the reorganization plan, the people said.

Before deciding on a bankruptcy financed by senior lenders, Blockbuster said it spent "significant time" through the spring and summer this year discussing potential financing deals with other companies. They included two "large, financially capable strategic parties" and other investors. None of them offered sufficient money for the company to cut its debt enough, Blockbuster said in a court filing.

Bondholder Support

Blockbuster has support for its reorganization plan from a group of bondholders holding about 80.1 percent of the company's 11 3/4 percent senior-secured notes, it said. The notes will be exchanged for equity in the reorganized company. The company has secured bonds with a face value of $630 million and unsecured bonds with a face value of $300 million, court papers show.
Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-