Wednesday, October 1, 2008

GameStop to Enter French Market with $700M Buy

Grapevine, Texas-based GameStop announced Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire fellow video game retailer Micromania from a European private equity fund for $700 million in cash. GameStop, which claims to be the world's largest video game retailer, currently operates 5,889 locations in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, plus 755 stores within the European Union. Thanks to the Micromania acquisition, GameStop said, it will gain 332 locations throughout France, where it previously had no stores. The deal, GameStop noted, is subject to European Commission approval and is expected to close in November 2008.