Check out the familiar story line for investor Mark Wattles.
 
It’s not really a sequel and not quite a remake, but the story of Blockbuster’s takeover bid for Circuit City does contain some familiar plot elements and characters.
 
In 2004, Hollywood Entertainment, the video chain operator founded by Wattles, was the No. 2 player in a video industry struggling against rising competition from low-priced videos being sold by Wal-Mart and from online video rental company Netflix.
 
Today, Wattles is a major, vocal, shareholder in Circuit City, a struggling No. 2 in an industry being hit by increased lower-priced competition from the likes of Wal-Mart and Costco and by a weak economy that is causing consumers to avoid discretionary purchases like big-ticket electronics.
 
In 2004, Wattles pushed for Hollywood to be sold — to Wattles and private equity firm Leonard Green and Partners. In 2008, Wattles suggests that Circuit City consider being sold or take other steps as he wages a proxy battle for seats on the retailer’s board.
 
In 2005, Blockbuster made a hostile takeover bid for Hollywood, which had agreed to be purchased by rival Movie Gallery. Today, Blockbuster made public an offer of up to $1.3 billion for Circuit City after Circuit City would not provide access to its books.
 
So far, Reuters has not heard Wattles’ review of the Blockbuster offer for Circuit City. But will the plot similarities continue? In 2005, anti-trust concerns led to Blockbuster dropping its bid for Hollywood, leaving Movie Gallery to win the deal. Today, there are already questions about Blockbuster’s bid for Circuit City — centering around how the company will finance the bid.
 
Blockbuster says it can complete the deal on a cash basis and that it has the support of Carl Icahn, a Blockbuster shareholder.
 
Oh, by the way, Icahn was also around as a supporting character during the Blockbuster bid for Hollywood, first as a Hollywood shareholder and then the largest investor in both Hollywood and Blockbuster. He tried to “facilitate a combination” of the two companies then, according to the Portland Oregonian newspaper, which cited regulatory filings.
 
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