Amazon.Com to take full control of Lovefilm in £200 million deal
21 Jan 2011
US online retailer Amazon.Com plans to buy the remaining 58-per cent of UK's DVD and games rental firm Lovefilm that it does not already own in a deal reportedly valued at around £200 million ($320 million).
The London-based company that started off in 2004 sending DVD's through the post, is now one of Europe's biggest pre-paid entertainment company having grown through 10 acquisitions and now has about 1.6 million members in the UK, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
It offers computer games as well as over 70,000 titles, including HD / Blu-ray DVDs, video games and digital streaming movies and TV shows that are relayed to customers' computers or TVs via its Lovefilm Player.streams.
LoveFilm acquired Amazon's DVD rental business in the UK and German markets in 2008, and in return offered Amazon 42 per cent stake in the company.
Since its launch, LoveFilm has been backed by venture funds including Index Ventures, Balderton Capital and Arts Alliance Media and DFJ Esprit.
Lovefilm currently works with major partners in the UK including Tesco, easy Group, CD Wow, Guardian News Media, Odeon and Vue Cinemas, some of whom offer a fully white-labelled online DVD rental service.