Company holds a leading position in video rental Strong worldwide brand recognition The company's participation in the highly competitive home entertainment industry The dependence of the company's business on decisions made by movie studios A highly leveraged capital structure On July 22, 2004, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'BB' rating to Blockbuster Inc.'s proposed $1.45 billion credit facilities. Proceeds from the transaction will be used to (1) refinance all amounts outstanding under the existing credit agreement; (2) pay a cash dividend to shareholders of approximately $905 million; and (3) pay transaction costs related to the special dividend, the split-off from Viacom, and the new credit facilities. A corporate credit rating of 'BB' also has been assigned to the
