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[moreforus] 28/4/2009 16:01

good news for sector

HMV Merger Update





TIDMHMV

RNS Number : 3065R
Office of Fair Trading
28 April 2009

?


+--------------------------------------------+----------------------------+
| 47/09 | 28 April 2009 |
+--------------------------------------------+----------------------------+


+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| OFT CLEARS ACQUISITION OF ZAVVI STORES BY HMV UNDER 'FAILING FIRM' |
| ANALYSIS |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+




The OFT has cleared the proposed acquisition of 15 former Zavvi stores by HMV
plc.

The OFT investigated the merger on its own initiative. Prior to Zavvi going
into administration at the end of last year, both parties were leading national
retailers of entertainment products, with overlapping stores in a large number
of local areas across the UK.

Following its investigation, the OFT has
decided that a reference to the Competition Commission is not be necessary as
the 'failing firm defence' is met.

A merger based on a 'failing firm' claim can be allowed by the OFT if
evidence clearly shows that, without it, a business would have exited the market
completely, and that no realistic alternative to the merger was available. The
rationale for accepting such claims is that any harm to competition would result
even without the merger, and so should not be attributed to it.

In light of the difficult economic climate, the OFT issued a restatement of
its position on 'failing firms' in December 2008.
In this case, the OFT received compelling evidence that:
* without the merger the stores would inevitably have exited the entertainment
retail market as a result of Zavvi's collapse, and
* there was no less anti-competitive alternative to the merger in the overlap
areas, and this included no other realistic entertainment retail purchaser for
the stores.

Although members of the previous management of Zavvi have acquired ex-Zavvi
stores in other areas, there was clear evidence that the landlords of the stores
to be acquired by HMV would not have reached agreement on acceptable tenancy
terms with this new management group.
John Fingleton, Chief Executive of the OFT, said:
'Although the current economic climate may result in an increase in the number
of failing firm cases, we will continue to scrutinise such claims carefully to
ensure competition is protected.
'Given the overwhelming evidence pointing in favour of a failing firm defence in
this case we did not consider it necessary to undertake a detailed market
analysis, enabling us to carry out our investigation in a more proportionate and
timely manner'.
This is the fifth time that the OFT has cleared a transaction using the failing
firm defence, and the first since the December restatement.

NOTES
1. The stores the HMV proposes to acquire are in the following areas :
Peterborough, Plymouth, Southend, Glasgow Silverburn, Glasgow Fort, Bournemouth
Castlepoint, Salisbury, Crewe, Teeside, Glasgow Buchanon Galleries, Croydon,
Nottingham, Fulham, Hastings and Manchester Arndale Centre.

2. On 18 December 2008 the OFT published a restatement of its position
regarding acquisitions of 'failing firms'. This clarifies the OFT's position on
'failing firm' claims as set out in its existing guidance and decisional
practice. It also confirms that the OFT will provide informal advice in
appropriate cases on the application of 'failing firm' arguments.

3. The OFT has previously applied the failing firm defence in the following
cases : 1.Anticipated acquisition by First West Yorkshire Limited of Black
Prince Buses Limited, 2.Tesco/Kwik Save 3. Completed acquisition by the CdMG
group of companies of Ferryways NV and Searoad Stevedores NV, and
4.Homebase/Focus DIY stores.

4. Own-initiative merger inquiries - while the majority of mergers reviewed by
the OFT arise from voluntary notification by the parties, the OFT's
own-initiative inquiry programme can lead to remedial action by the OFT or
Competition Commission.

5. The Reference Test -- The OFT has a duty to make a reference to the
Competition Commission if it believes that it is or may be the case that
arrangements are in progress or in contemplation which, if carried into effect,
will result in the creation of a relevant merger situation, and the creation of
that situation may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of
competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or
services.

6. Under the Enterprise Act 2002 a relevant merger situation is created if two
or more enterprises have ceased to be distinct enterprises; and the value of the
turnover in the United Kingdom of the enterprise being taken over exceeds GBP70
million; or as a result of the transaction, in relation to the supply of goods
or services of any description, a 25 per cent share of supply in the UK (or a
substantial part thereof) is created or enhanced.

7. The text of this decision will be placed on the Office of Fair Trading's web
site at www.oft.gov.uk as soon as is reasonably practicable.


MEDIA enquiries: 020 7211+
Corinne Gladstone8899 Kasia Reardon8901
Jonathan Marciano8898John Fearn 8708
Out of hours: mobile: [phone] fax messages: 020 7211 8961
Copies of press notices: Ext. 8993

PUBLIC enquiries: 0845 7224499 [e-mail]
OFT reports and consumer information leaflets are available free from:
OFT, PO Box 366, Hayes UB3 1XB 0800 389 3158 [e-mail]





This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END

MERSEIFLASUSEEL

[moreforus] 27/4/2009 20:47

95% on rottentomatoes...

[moreforus] 27/4/2009 10:04

getting ready for the next leg up.. cannot buy a 100k onlinbe but can sell 100k at 2.025

[moreforus] 23/4/2009 20:53

There's a fab review in London Lite...but this is the one from ES

Shifty - a dose of London's dark side
By Derek Malcolm, Evening Standard 23.04.09 More reviews by Derek Malcolm
Desperate lives: Chris (Danny Mays) and Shifty (Riz Ahmed)
Too often you wonder how British films ever got the green light. Not so Shifty, Eran Creevy's first feature, which was financed cheaply by Film London's Microwave scheme and shot in 18 days under the guiding hand of Asif Kapadia (director of The Warrior).

It's one of two films specifically about life among London's youth out this week, with City Rats also on release, and by far the better work.

Set in a series of dreary housing estates in an unnamed area of the capital, it is more than just another urban thriller. Creevy's film depicts the underbelly of big city life with style and substance.



Film Trailers by Filmtrailer.com

Chris (Danny Mays) returns from Manchester to visit his old friend, Shifty (Riz Ahmed), with whom he has "history". Chris has a regular job and a mortgage while Shifty has become a full-time drug dealer. Chris watches as he confronts a double-dealing supplier (Jason Flemyng) and deals with his regular customers, including a crack-smoking pensioner (Francesca Annis), an ex-girlfriend with children, and a husband (Jay Simpson) who's trying to keep his coke addiction from his family.

Things do not go well as Chris and Shifty rediscover their friendship. Chris has found himself back in a world that seems all the more desperate for being so ordinary. Couched in a kind of Pinteresque slum language that needs a glossary to be totally intelligible, the film boasts an authenticity and wholly natural performances, particularly from Mays, and is devoid of the usual clichés of its genre.

[moreforus] 23/4/2009 07:11

shifty is out tomorrow - the best brit film of the year...

[moreforus] 21/4/2009 09:47

if you want to buy you will have to pay full ask of 2.5 now..going to sit tight thnik we get another nice tick up in 2 weeks

[moreforus] 17/4/2009 12:02

100k buy just gone through at 2.25.. yes it is a buy!!

[moreforus] 17/4/2009 10:39

check out the buzz on shifty...going to be featured in next thursdays london standard

[blamont] 17/4/2009 10:35

Oh we're listening but we remember when the idiot crook John Hall ran this little company - nearly into the ground - whilst busily forecasting £1 per share! So longer term shareholders are watching with interest to see whether the Eastern Europeans can do better - and yes they are buying more films now but are they any good?

[moreforus] 17/4/2009 10:31

why doesnt anyone ever bloody listen to me ..this stock is undervalued relative to it's fundies and potential - shifty is coming next friday!!

[moreforus] 17/4/2009 09:51

oh yes .. checked online price 1st thing...also they are above the bid and given the liquidity a 1 million sales would = drop in price.!!

[groats118] 17/4/2009 09:30

M4US are you sure there buys the trades at 1.8 !!

[moreforus] 17/4/2009 08:35

ok 1,000,000 shares bought now so far and it's only 8.34!! something cooking...

[moreforus] 17/4/2009 08:18

someone bought 500k shares this morning .. (buy is 1.8 now 1.85).. this is due a tick up... look at the chart...look at the news etc etc

[moreforus] 17/4/2009 06:16

shifty will be released next friday - it seems to have attracted a lot of press attention as the best british film of the year, it definitely has had a lot of advertizing using a striking yellow posters all over the london underground.

[moreforus] 16/4/2009 21:51

20 day ma crossing up through 200..v bullish - golden cross..

[moreforus] 10/4/2009 19:35

oh dear One show Adrian Chiles and Christine stick insect told people to go and see 50 dead men walking - we're doomed.

[moreforus] 10/4/2009 19:20

50 dead men walking on BBC One show now - with Sir Ben Kingsley....excellent coverage...

[moreforus] 08/4/2009 21:06

50 dead men walking ads on tv now - released friday to much critical acclaim ..