HOUSTON, June 4, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Consistent with the company's rapid expansion as the industry leader, TNR Entertainment Corp., the nation's largest owner and operator of self-service DVD rental kiosks in supermarkets and grocery stores, today announced that entertainment and finance veteran Robert E. Genthert has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer. The announcement was made today by Richard B. Cohen, Chief Executive Officer of TNR Entertainment, whose kiosks operate under the name The New Release(tm).
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"Bob's broad mix of experience in home entertainment, finance and accounting in diverse applications makes him extraordinarily valuable as we continue on our accelerated growth path. We know he will be a great asset and resource to the Company -- from financing and analysis to accounting and management information systems -- as we take TNR to the next level," Cohen stated.
In his new position, Genthert will be responsible for all of TNR's finance, reporting and accounting activities, including funding to further support the Company's expanding grocery channel partnerships and penetration of new markets across the country. He is also part of a senior management group responsible for overall strategy of the company.
"This is a major opportunity to be part of a rapidly growing business and concept that has had an explosive effect on a changing DVD market," Genthert said. "TNR has created a major niche in an exciting market and I am looking forward to supporting the company in its accelerated growth pattern."
Genthert's more than 20 years of finance experience encompasses 11 years of increasing responsibility at various operating units of The Walt Disney Company. His most recent Disney post was as Vice President of Worldwide Finance for Disney's multi- billion-dollar Buena Vista Home Entertainment division. He managed numerous financial functions including re-engineering the worldwide consolidation process and accounting function, directing the international consolidation of 15 subsidiaries and 30 licensees.
Subsequently, Genthert served as CFO for Warner Bros. Online, a division of Time Warner, managing all financial and administrative aspects for the New Media and Online division. There, he was also a key member of the Company's finance team that helped establish Movielink and the Digital Cinema Initiative and was part of the studio's corporate strategic planning group regarding all new media and related technologies impacting film and television entertainment product.
His professional experience also includes senior financial management positions with a billion-dollar, publicly-traded global outsource company and two private companies, where he successfully completed a complex debt restructuring and raised $50 million in debt financing.
Privately-held TNR, based in Houston, dominates the self-service DVD rental category in the grocery channel, having served nearly millions of customers since its inception in 2002. Led by TNR Entertainment's new management team of Cohen and COO Jeff Karbowiak, the Company has launched an aggressive expansion of its retail locations this year. More than 1,600 The New Release(tm) kiosks can be found in such grocery chains as Dillon's, Food 4 Less, Food Lion, Fry's, H-E-B, Kroger, King Soopers, Publix, Quality Food Centers, Ralph's, Roundy's/Pick 'N Save, and Spartan/Family Fare in 28 states across the country. For a complete listing of the Company's supermarket and grocery store locations, see the geographic search section of TNR's website, www.thenewrelease.com.
The New Release automated DVD rental kiosks provide supermarket customers with a more convenient one-stop shopping experience. As the Company's kiosks are introduced in new markets, more consumers will be able to enjoy renting the latest DVD titles for $1-a-day and no late fees -- a simple and affordable pricing structure that TNR was the first to successfully market. Unlike its competitors, TNR's kiosks house up to 1,000 units each, representing more than 200 titles, including top new releases. The fully-automated kiosks operate on a wireless communications network and next-generation DVD kiosk operating system.
TNR Entertainment Corp. is backed by an institutional investor group including Celerity Partners, LP of Los Angeles; Chapton Partners, LP, a Houston family partnership; Laminar Direct Capital, L.P., a member of the D.E. Shaw group of companies; and MCG Capital Corporation (Nasdaq:MCGC), a leading specialized financial services company and financial advisor.
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