Six months after their latest offer to take Books-A-Million private, the controlling Anderson family has reached a deal to buyout shareholders of the country’s second-largest book retailer for approximately $21 million, an improved offer of $3.25 a share. (Previously, they offered $17 million, or $2.75 a share.) Unanimously approved by a special board committee and the directors, the deal offers a 23 percent premium over Monday’s closing trading price of $2.60 a share. A majority of the shareholders outside of the family still need to approve the deal for it to go through. The Andersons currently own just under 58 percent of shares. They […]
Bookstores
BN Marketplace Comes Back Online
When Barnes & Noble went live with the revamped version of their website on June 30, there were a number of bumps, including some periods of downtime. But the biggest missing element was their Marketplace, which offers “access to tens of millions of items provided by” third-party sellers, including used books. On Tuesday night BN spokesperson Mary Ellen Keating confirmed to eCommerceBytes, “We recently launched our bn.com website without Marketplace going live. Our plan is to have Marketplace back up and live tomorrow.” Keating reiterated to PL that Marketplace was due to be live by or prior to 6:00 PM Wednesday evening, and indeed that […]
McLain’s Circling the Sun Tops August Indie Next List
Circling the Sun by Paula McLain is the ABA’s No. 1 Indie Next pick for August. The rest of the list also includes Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal and The Marriage of Opposites, by Alice Hoffman, both featured in our Spring/Summer Buzz Books 2015 ebook, as well as: Fishbowl, by Bradley Somer Armada, by Ernest Cline The Girl Who Slept with God, by Val Brelinski You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost), by Felicia Day Barefoot to Avalon: A Brother’s Story, by David Payne Dragonfish, by Vu Tran Orphan #8, by Kim van Alkemade Mrs. Sinclair’s Suitcase, […]
Bookselling: Amazon Expands in Mexico; Indigo Expands Store Discounts; and More
Two years after launching its Kindle store in Mexico, Amazon has expanded to offer a broad spectrum of physical goods, including printed books, at http://amazon.com.mx/. Offerings include the three versions of the Kindle e-reader. Indigo will now discount 100 top-selling and bookseller-recommend books by 40 percent, ceo Heather Reisman tells the Globe & Mail, “looking for some way to bring a little bit of added value to the overall experience” while noting that if the retailer “had to sell books at online prices, Indigo could not continue to exist.” (Indigo discounts titles by up to 50 percent online.) Previously, they deep discounted […]
Judge Denies Results of Family Christian Bankruptcy Auction
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Gregg voided the results of the complicated bankruptcy auction for the Family Christian Stores bookselling chain, calling the process “at times, nothing short of chaotic.” At the same time, the Judge wrote, “While the Debtors clearly made mistakes at the auction, this court concludes that the allegations of fraud and unfairness are, in large part, unfounded.” That presents FCS with two main options: Reopen the bankruptcy auction, under the expanded oversight of the United States Trustee’s office, or, “as an alternative to recommencing the auction, the Debtors may simply wish to file a plan of reorganization […]
Nebraska Book Company Sells Retail Division to Follett
The Nebraska Book Company has sold its Neebo retail division to Follett, which will lead to the loss of 60 jobs at the company’s headquarters in Lincoln, NE. The sale of Neebo, for which terms were not disclosed, comes after the Nebraska Book Company announced it would close its Lincoln store next month, and enables the company to “concentrate on textbook distribution and technology support for independent college book retailers,” the Omaha World-Herald reports. Interim president and chief executive Ben Riggsby added in the announcement: “Nebraska Books Company is realizing the opportunity to shift its strategic focus to the singular […]