The Anderson family announced on Tuesday evening that it “has withdrawn the previously announced non-binding proposal to acquire all of the outstanding publicly-held shares” of Books-a-Million.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, […]
Bookstores
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 […]
Hue-Man Bookstore In Harlem to Close, For Now
Harlem’s Hue-Man Bookstore told customers by e-mail that it will close on July 31, the end of their lease. The store staff tries to position the move as a new beginning rather than an ending: “Closing the existing format of Hue-Man is forward thinking on our part and as we take pause to re-imagine the future of books and how to ensure that their purpose of entertaining, imparting knowledge and honing creativity is preserved, we find no viable alternative but to go back to the drawing board. Closing our beloved bookstore, I assure you was a very hard decision for […]
People, Etc.
At Perseus, Scott Edinburgh joins as director, corporate strategy and business development, reporting to Clare Peeters. Previously he was manager, global strategy and corporate development at the InterContinental Hotels Group. In addition, Timothy Cheng has been named special sales manager, having most recently been special sales manager for online, mail order, national specialty accounts at Sterling. Christine Schillig has resigned as executive editor at Andrews McMeel Publishing as of June 29 and can be reached at christineschillig@gmail.com. She has been with the company for seventeen years, and will continue as editor-at-large for selected projects. Claire Daniel has been named digital […]
Briefs: Barbara’s Bookstore Will Operate Boutiques in “Dozens” of Macy’s Stores; Moleskine Plans IPO; Learning from Godin’s Kickstarter
Macy’s will add “dozens” of in-store boutiques operated by Chicago-based independent Barbara’s Bookstore to its Massachusetts shops in the coming weeks, according to the Boston Herald. The boutiques will be known as “Barbara’s Bookstore at Macy’s” and will roll out in department stores located in Boston’s Downtown Crossing, Hyannis, Holyoke and North Attleboro, replacing the now-bankrupt Borders. (Barbara’s has been operating a kiosk in the city’s South Station for a number of years.) Print sales may be in decline, but that does not seem to have affected books with little or no print: Moleskine, maker of blank notebooks, calendars and […]
Barnes & Noble Results Disappoint Again, But Bookstore Comps Are Up 4.5 Percent
Barnes & Noble continues their string of earnings disappointments with fourth quarter sales and losses that were not as good as either the official analyst estimates or the Wall Street “whisper numbers.” The chain recorded fourth quarter sales of $1.38 billion, only $5 million more than a year ago, and a consolidated net loss of $57.7 million, or $1.08 per share. For the full fiscal year, sales of $7.1 billion rose just 2 percent and the consolidated net loss was $68.9 million, or $1.41 per share. As you would expect, shares are trading down this morning on the missed targets, […]