-Liberty's bid sees e-potential in Barnes & Noble

Internet Business News
05-23-2011
-Liberty's bid sees e-potential in Barnes & Noble

INTERNET BUSINESS NEWS-(C)1995-2011 M2 COMMUNICATIONS

23 May 2011 - Liberty Media made a surprising offer for Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) on Thursday night, bringing the troubled bookseller under the spotlight again and suggesting interest in its e-book business, the Financial Times said at the weekend.
Liberty said that as part of its bid it would pay around USD500m (EUR352m) in cash, depending on the available funds, for about 70% of Barnes & Noble. The offer suggests Liberty expects the bookseller's biggest shareholder Leonard Riggio to remain in the business with his stake of about 30%.

According to a person with knowledge of Liberty Media, the company's Liberty Capital arm sat on around USD1.3bn in cash, which it wanted to invest, and considered Barnes & Noble a well-run business, which offered limited risk and could use its position as the second-biggest US e-book seller to grow further.

The offer of USD17 a share, representing a 20% premium on Thursday close, comes as the bookseller is set to unveil a new model of its e-reader Nook, which has captured 25% of the US e-book market.

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