Blockbuster Partner NCR Buys Out Kiosk Operator TNR

21 Apr, 2009 By: Chris Tribbey

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To expand the number of DVD rental kiosks showing up under the Blockbuster Express brand, NCR Corp. has bought the remaining equity in TNR Holdings Corp., which operates The New Release and MovieCube kiosks.

NCR had been a minority investor in TNR since mid-2008, when TNR tapped NCR to be its supplier of self-service technology. Blockbuster announced last August that it had partnered with NCR to bring more than 10,000 DVD kiosks to market by the end of 2009, to compete with companies like Redbox, DVDPlay and TNR.

“This acquisition is a major step forward in NCR’s strategy of becoming the leading provider of self-service entertainment solutions and will deliver the best and broadest media offerings to our customers through our partnership with Blockbuster,” said John Bruno, EVP, NCR Industry Solutions Group.

Blockbuster Chairman and CEO Jim Keyes added, “We remain excited about DVD vending, and through our alliance with NCR, we are poised to participate in the category’s growth. We believe NCR's acquisition sets the stage for aggressive growth and will further our goal of deploying thousands of Blockbuster Express branded kiosks.”

NCR bought out its TNR partner’s (MCG Capital Corp.) stake in the company for cash considerations, the company said. No additional terms of the deal were disclosed.

In September of last year, NCR Corp. teamed with Toshiba to invest $35 million into MOD Systems to create a new digital delivery media system, where retailers would host kiosks that download content to consumers’ SD cards.

 

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