The Source by Circuit City is shuffling its 750 electronics stores across the country into the hands of Canada's largest telecommunications company Bell Canada for an undisclosed price.
The phone company that's owned by BCE Inc. announced Monday it will acquire The Source by Circuit City for considerably less than the $335 million paid by Circuit City in 2004 for the retail chain. BCE declined to offer specifics because U.S.-based Circuit City has filed for bankruptcy protection and plans to liquidate its operations in the United States.
The stores, which sell everything from cellphones and batteries to TVs and other consumer electronics, have been on the market since Circuit City and its Canadian subsidiary sought court protection from creditors late last year. Circuit City has since declared bankruptcy but its InterTAN subsidiary has continued to operate while it auctioned off its Canadian chain of electronics stores, many of them former Radio Shack locations.
Bell Canada says it wants to use the stores to carry a range of consumer services, such as Bell Mobility and Solo Mobile cellphones as well as television, Internet and phone products. The company also said it would continue to operate the stores under The Source name, and carry a similar line of electronics.
Stay tuned for the latest.
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