Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego said he has bought a 28.1 percent stake in Circuit City Stores Inc. in order to influence management and operations of the company, according to papers filed this morning with the Security and Exchange Commission.
Salinas, who bought 30.3 million shares of Circuit City stock last week, also signed a nondisclosure agreement on Tuesday with the company, agreeing that he would not discuss company finances for three years, the filing said.
He has bought a total of 47,182,688 shares of Circuit City for $41.42 million, the filing said.
Salinas "acquired the shares with a view towards possibly seeking influence over the management, business and operations of [Circuit City], including its activities following its voluntary petition for reorganization relief under chapter 11 of the United States bankruptcy code . . . However, no decision in this regard has yet been made."
The filing also said Salinas has the right to contact Circuit City executives, board members, shareholders, advisors and others regarding any alternatives that the retailer could employ in the Chapter 11 case to maximize the chain's value.
Salinas is the owner of Latin America's largest chain of consumer-electronics stores, Grupo Elektra. Grupo Elektra operates about 880 electronics and appliance stores in eight Latin American countries.
The chain had $39 billion in sales last year and assets worth $82.4 billion, according to a report from credit rating agency Dun & Bradstreet.
Circuit City, based in Henrico County, filed for bankruptcy Nov. 10.
-- Louis Llovio
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