Leonard Green will pay $3 for each Hechinger share, or about $124 million.

Yet Leonard Green said yesterday that the new company would be a strong competitor.

Leonard Green renegotiated when Hollywood Entertainment's sales continued to fall, cutting the price by 27 percent, to $665 million or $10.25 a share.

If all the conversions are completed, the banks and Leonard Green would wind up owning about 29 percent of the company.

He was guided by their manager, Leonard Green, for the next four years.

Including the shares it still owns and the money raised in the stock offering, Leonard Green has an investment worth $250 million.

Leonard Green & Partners purchased a majority stake in the company in 2005 for a reported $200 million.

Leonard Green & Partners, a private-equity firm, bought seventeen per cent of the business, and got two seats on the board.

It also said that the investment firm Leonard Green & Partners would invest $300 million.

Leonard Green, Lancashire's captain, was batting when the score stood at 499.