The Anderson family announced on Tuesday evening that it “has withdrawn the previously announced non-binding proposal to acquire all of the outstanding publicly-held shares” of Books-a-Million. They say that “after discussing the proposal with the special committee of the company’s Board of Directors and its advisors, the Anderson family has decided not to pursue the proposed acquisition at this time.” Shortly after the $3.05-a-share offer was made in late April, a raft of investor lawsuits were filed challenging the offer. Investors believed the offer, which provided a 20 percent premium over the share price at the time it was made, […]
Archives for July 2012
A Look at the SEC’s Correspondence with Barnes & Noble Over Agency and Sterling
Newly appearing in our RSS feed of SEC filings for Barnes & Noble is batch of correspondence from this spring that appears to have been previously confidential in which the government asked for a series of clarifications in BN’s public financial statements. (The most recent document is actually dates from mid-June.) One interesting area of discussion is the SEC’s desire for more specific information about BN’s agency ebook sales. They wrote: “We note your disclosure that certain digital content is distributed under an agency pricing model in which publishers set fixed prices for eBooks and that you receive a fixed […]
eNews: Nook Finally Comes to the Web; Selectric Artists Launches eBook Imprint for Clients; And More
Barnes & Noble finally introduced its own free digital reading experience for browsers, NOOK for Web, for PC and Mac. Complimentary titles available for those who try the new offering through July 26 include Map of Bones by James Rollins, Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell, The Vow by Kim Carpenter, The Boxcar Children Summer Special by Gertrude Chandler Warner, Brave by Tennant Redbank and Perfect Island Getaways by Patricia Schultz. Christopher Schelling at Selectric Artists has launched a new ebook imprint, Roadswell Editions, for backlist and frontlist titles by clients. The launch title is Kathe Koja’s 1991 horror […]
BBC Takes a Second Writedown (And A Reorganization Charge) on Lonely Planet
The BBC took a second writedown against the value of publishing unit Lonely Planet for the fiscal year ending as of the end of March, taking a £16.1 million “charge to the income statement.” It’s the second time the broadcaster has taken a charge because of the travel publisher–the previous writedown, of just under £34 million, was revealed this time a year ago (hence some headlines this week talking about a £50 million charge). Last year the impairment was blamed on both the rising Australian dollar and the bankruptcies of major booksellers; this year the BBC focuses again on the […]
People: Obits for Stephen R. Covey, Donald J. Sobol
Stephen R. Covey, author of the 1989 self-help bestseller 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE, died early Monday at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls from the residual effects of a bicycle accident in April, his family said. He was 79 years old. 7 HABITS and additional follow-up titles have sold more than 20 million copies in over 38 languages. Simon & Schuster ceo Carolyn Reidy said in a statement the publisher was “deeply saddened by Covey’s passing” and the company “is honored to have had a long lasting, company-wide and close association with Dr. Covey and […]
Corporate: Quarto Shareholders Call For Orbach’s Removal; Apollo Floated as McGraw-Hill Education Buyer; And More
Two shareholders who together hold more than 19.2 percent of common shares in Quarto have written to the board of directors asking for a special meeting and the removal of Laurence Orbach – co-founder, ceo, chairman, and the company’s largest shareholder – as a director of the company. (Orbach is set to step down as ceo next year, with current coo Marcus Leaver to replace him.) They also ask that Tim Chadwick be named to the board, though no details were provided as to why this should be necessary. In a statement the Quarto Board said it “believes that it […]