Wattles Builds 6.5% Stake In Circuit City
by Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 1/22/2008
Las Vegas – Investor and Ultimate Electronics owner Mark Wattles has amassed 11 million shares in Circuit City common stock, giving him a 6.5 percent stake in the retailer.
According to a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Wattles has been building his position in Circuit City since November through his investment company, Wattles Capital Management (WCM), and a trust, HKW Trust. Wattles is the sole constituent of both.
WCM holds a majority interest in Ultimate Acquisition Partners (UAP), which owns Ultimate Electronics. Wattles, who serves as its CEO, formed the company in 2005 to buy back 32 Ultimate Electronics stores in a bankruptcy auction after taking the chain into Chapter 11 protection. He bankrolled the acquisitions through the sale of Hollywood Video, which he founded and chaired, and has since told TWICE that he planned to eventually expand Ultimate’s store base, possibly through acquisition.
Wattles was also an activist investor in Tweeter Home Entertainment Group. He prompted acquisition rumors in 2005 by snapping up as much as 12.2 percent of the company’s stock while urging its board to drop poison pill provisions blocking hostile takeovers.
