Testifying Friday in a Delaware courtroom in the case brought by Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa challenging Barnes & Noble’s poison pill, chairman Len Riggio said of the defense plan adopted by the board, “It’s about the company.” But in a videotaped deposition before the trial played in court, Riggio said “the pill was about me and my family.” At another point in the deposition, he said, “I have a strong preference for being the largest shareholder of Barnes & Noble, being its founder.” Riggio was vaguer on the point raised in the first day’s testimony by Barnes & Noble board member […]
Archives for July 2010
Lively Testimony at BN Trial
Coverage of the first day of testimony in Ron Burkle’s lawsuit against Barnes & Noble in Delaware makes for fascinating, if not crystal clear, reading. Burkle indicated that he considered–but then rejected–a buyout bid for BN last year at $25 a share. (The stock now trades for under $13, its lowest point in years.) He accumulated stock last fall because he thought the company was historically cheap–“This was one of those things you would look back on and say ‘this could never happen again'”–but on that point he’s already been proven wrong by the market. Burkle is considering nominating his […]
Borders Shareholders “Asked” to Give LeBow Control Over Management
As expected, Borders announced a September 29 shareholders meeting to rubber-stamp the company’s deal with Bennet LeBow. He will either be granted a whopping stock warrant for 35.1 million shares exercisable at $2.25 or he will get “stock appreciation rights” that pay him anyway if the stock moves above that price. The surprise is the second motion on the agenda, which gives LeBow’s company control over the hiring and firing of the ceo, cfo, and any other executive officer. That should clear things up for anyone who still had doubts about whether LeBow bought complete control of the company.Release
eNews: Microsoft Wants to Patent Page Turns; Sony’s Hybrid Gizmo; Borders’ Free eBooks; and Cool-er Liquidation Confirmed
Following the granting of a patent to Amazon for dual-screen technology exactly like what the Nook uses, now a patent application made in January 2009 by Microsoft has just been published. According to the Register, they want to protect the electronic page-turning animations used by Apple’s iBooks and others. (In addition to the single-page turns that iBooks shows, the patent also envisions the ability to turn whole chunks of page in a single swipe.)Register In an article on how game-makers are looking at adding 3G connections to their machines following the popularity of wireless connections on ereaders, the WSJ says […]
The August 2010 Indie Next List
The Hanging Tree: A Starvation Lake Mystery by Bryan GruleyThe Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise: A Novel by Julia StuartLet’s Take the Long Way Home: A Memoir of Friendship by Gail CaldwellHeart of Lies: A Novel by M.L. MalcomSuper Sad True Love Story: A Novel by Gary ShteyngartA Dog’s Purpose: A Novel by W. Bruce CameronBurn: An Anna Pigeon Novel by Nevada BarrIn Harm’s Way: A Novel by Ridley PearsonThe Personal History of Rachel DuPree: A Novel by Ann WeisgarberDisplaced Persons: A Novel by Ghita SchwarzThe Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World’s Most […]
People: Abrams Artists Expands Into Publishing, Hires Steve Ross
Abrams Artists Agency, which has traditionally focused on talent representation, has hired former Collins president Steve Ross. Starting next week, he will serve as director of a newly-created book division, building a traditional book literary agency business, and will also create and run Abrams Authors Services, building on some of his freelance work since leaving HarperCollins. Ross says in the announcement: “While some authors and their work remain best suited for an established publishing company, others may benefit from a more personal, hands-on approach with a different financial structure, an approach only now possible thanks to the rapid proliferation of […]