The Independent Publishing Magazine: Barnes & Noble for Sale?

Wednesday 4 August 2010

Barnes & Noble for Sale?

US book retailer Barnes & Noble has yet to officially confirm that company founder and main shareholder Leonard Riggio is contemplating a bid for the whole company with a large investment group. The news reported by Reuters this morning may lead to other interested parties, including billionaire Ron Burkle. Share prices for the company rose by six percent yesterday, but overall, the company share prices have lost half their value in the past year.

According to the Reuters report:

“The pressure on Barnes & Noble to realign its strategy became clearer in June, when it reported a larger loss as it spent money to develop its Nook electronic reader, which is outgunned in the market by Amazon's Kindle and Apple's iPad.”