Amazon To Acquire European Games And DVD Rental House LoveFilm

Seattle-based online retail giant Amazon.com said Thursday it will acquire European film subscription service and video game rental company LoveFilm. UK PlayStation 3 customers who are LoveFilm subscribers can also access LoveFilm's streaming video service through the console. The service can also stream movies to PC and internet-enabled TVs. LoveFilm also operates rent-by-mail operations, distributing DVDs and video games via mail. The company has presence in the UK, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, where Amazon said it currently has no similar operation. Amazon's acquisition of LoveFilm is subject to closing conditions and regulatory approval, and is slated to close in the first quarter 2011. UK LoveFilm video game rental subscribers pay between £5.99 a month and £18.99 a month for access to the company's rental library, depending on the plan. The two companies also worked together in 2008, when LoveFilm acquired Amazon Europe's DVD rental business, giving Amazon a "significant minority" stake in the company. LoveFilm has nearly 1.6 million members, according to the company, who can access 70,000 titles across Blu-ray, DVD, video game and streaming movie categories.