• Reuters, Monday, September 20, 2010 12:12 PM

Amazon has made a takeover offer for movie-rental firm Lovefilm, which values it at close to 200 million pounds, or over $300 million. "Amazon already owns a 42% stake in privately-held Lovefilm after combining its own European rental operation with Lovefilm in 2008 and through buying out one of the company's venture capital backers," reports Reuters. The Sunday Times first reported the news, without citing sources.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Amazon had approached media companies with a proposal for a subscription service that gives users unlimited access to some TV shows and movies over the Internet in an effort to rival Netflix. The online retailer had reportedly approached Time Warner, CBS Corp and Viacom, though it was still not clear if the media companies would agree to Amazon's proposals. Amazon's site already features a range of TV shows and movies in its video-on-demand section that are generally available for sale individually from $1.99.

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