E-Commerce’s Latest Convert

The latest company to be drawn to the flashy world of entertainment and e-commerce is Yucaipa Cos., the private Los Angeles investment company behind Kroger Co.’s deal to acquire Fred Meyer and create the nation’s largest supermarket chain.

Yucaipa recently bought Alliance Entertainment Corp. of Coral Springs, Fla., which distributes music, videos, DVDs and games, and operates Web sites about music, movies and games. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Yucaipa Managing Partner Ron Burkle will expand Alliance’s entertainment businesses as the company’s new chairman.

The purchase may reflect the interests of Richard Wolpert, the former Disney Online president who joined Yucaipa as a partner in January.