Though dense, there’s some interesting (and colorful) reading in the full opinion from chancellor Strine in his Barnes & Noble poison pill ruling. He did find that lead director Michael Del Giudice is too closely tied financially and politically to Len Riggio’s money and interests to be considered an independent director. But the current committee of independent directors considering strategic alternatives does not include Del Giudice as a member. He cites a number of snippets of testimony regarding earlier tussles between Riggio and Burkle, and at one point he relates a board discussion of the poison pill plan in which […]
Archives for August 2010
People
Basic Books executive editor Tim Sullivan is leaving the company, and will join Harvard Business Publishing as executive editor on September 1. Lucy Del Priore will join Macmillan Children’s as director of school and library marketing at the end of the month. Most recently a publishing consultant and freelancer, she spent most of her career at Penguin Children’s, most recently as their director of school and library marketing
Burkle Starts Proxy Campaign, Nominates Himself and Two Others to Barnes & Noble Board
Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa responded to the Delaware verdict by saying it “believes no legitimate corporate purpose is served by treating the Riggios more favorably than other stockholders.” As expected, they filed their plans with the SEC to launch a campaign for shareholder votes to amend the company’s poison pill by raising the threshhold of stock accumulate from 20 percent to 30 percent before it is triggered, and vote Burkle, Stephen Bollenbach and Wheego car ceo Michael McQuary onto the board of directors. In the solicitation, Yucaipa writes: “The company has reached a crucial juncture. The Company recently announced that it […]
Judge Support Barnes & Noble On Poison Pill; Talks with Burke Are Off–So Proxy Fight Is On?
It’s never a surprise when a Delaware Chancery Court sides with corporate management, since business is the business of Delaware, so as expected Vice Chancellor Leo Strine rejected the case brought by Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa. Strine concluded that the poison pill “rights plan was a proportional response to the threat the company faced and was reasonably designed to prevent “a creeping acquisition without the benefit of receiving a control premium.” The chancellor also identified weaknesses and inconsistencies in the arguments made by Burkle. Particularly on the point that the poison pill made it difficult for Burkle to wager a proxy […]
More On Elaine Koster
Her agency has issued a formal statement that includes remembrances from some her authors: Khaled Hosseini says, “I am deeply saddened by Elaine’s passing. Elaine was a wonderful agent, and I owe my career to her. She opened her door to me when no one else would. She was a loyal and dear friend, and I will miss greatly her warmth, her encouragement, and her unfailing belief in me.” According to Mr. Hosseini, when she received his manuscript for The Kite Runner, she left him a voice mail offering representation, in which she said, “I guarantee you your book will […]
Remembering Elaine Koster
Agent and former publisher of NAL Elaine Koster died on Tuesday in New York, at age 69. In the second phase of her career Koster founded an eponymous literary agency in 1998, where she represented Khaled Hosseini among others. While publisher at NAL, she famously acquired paperback reprint rights to Stephen King’s CARRIE from Doubleday for $400,000 at the beginning of his career Chandler Crawford at the Chandler Crawford Agency, who represented translation rights for the Koster Agency’s books, said: “I am heartbroken that Elaine has died, though I take comfort in knowing how much she did for the publishing […]