Hours after Dish Network emerged as the winning bidder
for Blockbuster Inc.,
analysts are wondering just what will the satellite giant do with the troubled
video rental chain.
Dish emerged early Tuesday as the winning bidder for
Blockbuster, beating bids from activist investor Carl Icahn and a group of
bondholders led by hedge fund Marathon Alternative Capital, agreeing to pay
$320 million for the troubled video chain.
But now with the struggling retailer almost in hand - the
deal is expected to close in the second quarter - analysts are split on whether
to call this one a stud or a a dud.
Investors also appeared to be on the fence. Dish shares
were down about 8 cents each (0.3%) in afternoon trading Wednesday to $24.23
per share.
On one hand, the Blockbuster buy looks like another in a
growing line of bargain pickups for Dish - it acquired hybrid satellite and
terrestrial communications company DBSD North America in March for $1.5
billion. On the other, it appears like Dish paid a low price for a declining asset.
