Report: Circuit City Could Buy Some CompUSA Stores

The Mexican billionaire who owns the struggling CE chain CompUSA is hoping to sell a number of the chain’s U.S. stores- and has had discussions with Circuit City, among other companies, about purchasing them, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Carlos Slim, who according to Fortune passed Bill Gates earlier this year to become the world’s richest man, first bought into the company in 1999. He reportedly also approached Micro Electronics Inc. and Systemax Inc., in addition to Circuit City, about buying some of the stores. Slim’s move is ironic because, in 2003, he made an unsolicited bid (later rejected) to take over Circuit City for $1.5 billion.

In March, CompUSA announced that it was closing half of its U.S. stores, reducing its number of stores to around 100.