Penguin’s previously-announced library ebook lending pilot program with 3M and the Brooklyn Public Library, scheduled to last for a year, got off to a late start beginning yesterday, as announced in a 3M press release. That release let slip at the end of the third paragraph that “Penguin content is expected to be available to all 3M Cloud Library customers by the end of the year,” and other press has been off to the races from there. Penguin has not commented on the release and we have all seen in the past that vendors are not the authoritative source of […]
Bookstores
Barnes & Noble Hires Patrick Rouvillos To Oversee International Nook Expansion; Dixons Retail Added As New UK Partner
Barnes & Noble has solidified its plans to expand NOOK beyond the US and the UK with the appointment of Patrick Rouvillois as vp, managing director for international, reporting to Jamie Iannone. Rouvillois, who will work out of Luxembourg, was most recently global cmo and head of eCommerce for Carrefour. “We’re thrilled to have Patrick join the team as we embark on our international expansion of the NOOK brand into the UK and beyond,” Iannone said in a statement. “Patrick brings strong leadership to the role, and his vast background in the retail, consulting, telecom and media sectors will be […]
Elliott Exiting As Monsoon CEO
CEO of Monsoon Commerce Brian Elliott is stepping down from his position immediately, with president Kanth Gopalpur taking over. Elliott will work with Gopalpur “to ensure a seamless leadership transition….over the upcoming months.” The combination of Alibris, Monsoon, and Stone Edge Technologies, Monsoon Commerce notes they raised another $8 million in financing earlier in the year, with Oak Hill Capital Partners remaining as majority owner. The company is rellocating resources from their commerce business to their software business, “affecting staff primarily at the company’s headquarters in Emeryville, CA.” They have “eliminated about 10 positions in the Alibris business” as a […]
Corporate: Jana Drops Barnes & Noble; Bertelsmann Eyes US and Internet; Allen & Unwin Talks to Murdoch
As of August 31, Jana Partners no longer held any shares in Barnes & Noble, the company disclosed in an SEC filing on Tuesday. The investment firm, which owned 7 million shares of the bookseller when they first filed disclosure forms in April, still held a little over 4 million shares as of their most recent previous filing at the end of June. BN’s stock has been trading near a 52-week low over the past three weeks. At Bertelsmann‘s annual meeting gathering hundreds of executives companywide in Gutersloh, Germany, ceo Thomas Rabe said “the group does ‘not have all the […]
BN College Settlement Approved
As expected, Delaware Chancery Judge Leo Strine approved the settlement of the lawsuit brought by Barnes & Noble shareholders over the deal to purchase BN College from the Riggios. Judge Strine agreed in part with BN’s request to reduce the share of the proceeds going to the lawyers–originally set at $11 million of the $29 million settlement–though he reduced the award to $7 million rather than halving it as BN asked. The value of the remaining $22 million in settlement funds will be garnered by the bookseller’s own treasury, worth about 37 cents a share. (There is no award to […]
BN College Shareholder Suit Settlement Goes Before Judge
This Tuesday a Delaware Court of Chancery holds a hearing on the proposed settlement of shareholders’ suits against Barnes & Noble over the handling of the purchase of BN College. The settlement calls for Len Riggio to forgo $22.75 million of the principal on a $150 million note that the company still owes him for the transaction, and he will sacrifice $6.3 million of the way-above-market interest that BN is paying on the note. (While borrowing costs are near record lows, the company is paying 10 percent interest.) BN has objected to the proposal that the attorneys get $11 million of […]