LoveFilm CFO in spotlight as Amazon completes acquisition

LoveFilm chief financial officer Jim Buckle has a new paymaster following online retailer Amazon’s purchase of the outstanding shares in the online film retailer that it did not already own, giving it full ownership.

The long-awaited deal will close – subject to regulatory approvals – in the first quarter of 2011 and is good news for LoveFilm because it can significantly expand its client base and reach through Amazon’s European platform.

LoveFilm recently took over Amazon’s DVD rental business in the UK and Germany, and Buckle was closely involved in talks with the Office of Fair Trading in obtaining clearance for that deal at the same time as the business sought major refinancing from its banks.

In the time Buckle has been with the company, having joined in 2006, LoveFilm has seen its subscriber base explode from 400,000 to 1.4 million, bringing in revenue of almost £9m every month.

You can read an interview with Jim Buckle here