Blockbuster launches search for new CEO

Dallas A late Tuesday report said that Blockbuster has launched a search for a new CEO to replace current CEO Jim Keyes prior to year-end.

According to the Wall Street Journal, citing people close to the matter, Blockbuster has agreed to hire an executive-search firm to look at new leadership once it emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Keyes, who has led Blockbuster since 2007, remains a candidate to continue leading the company, the sources said, and the search is in its earliest stages.

The search firm, Los Angeles-based Korn/Ferry International, could look at candidates for other executive posts as well, according to the report. Blockbuster needs approval from the bankruptcy court to hire the firm.

Blockbuster's senior bondholders, including billionaire investor Carl Icahn, must approve the chain's CEO choice by Dec. 31 under a restructuring deal the two sides negotiated before the company sought bankruptcy protection.

Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy protection in New York on Sept. 23.

The board in July extended Keyes' contract for one year with an understanding that he would oversee the company's restructuring and that a successor would likely be identified at some point.