Redbox buying Blockbuster Express

The owners of Redbox, the popular DVD rental kiosks, have agreed to buy their biggest direct competitor Blockbuster Express for $100 million. Coinstar Inc. also would pay Blockbuster Express owner NCR $25 million over the next five years to rent its vending machines which are deployed locally in such chains as Publix. The deal would add 10,000 kiosks to the 34,500 Redbox kiosk network, so it must pass antitrust muster with regulators. Redbox this week stepped up its rivalry with Netflix by announcing a digital streaming video joint venture with Verizon Communications.