Blockbuster Expected to File for Bankruptcy

Blockbuster is preparing to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to CNBC.

The same story mentions that the Dallas-based chain’s racked up more than $900 million of debt, struggling to adapt to the online and Redbox compteition. “We continue to explore all of our options and are making good progress in our recapitalization process,” Blockbuster said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. “Our discussions with the studios and bondholders continue to be productive, and we have every reason to believe we will come out of the recapitalization process financially stronger and more competitively positioned for the future.”

In early 2010, Blockbuster operated nearly seven thousand stores in the U.S. and abroad. Although the business offered a download service in an effort to transcend the retail shops, it failed to keep up with Netflix’s stranglehold on the market.

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