Barnes & Noble chairman Len Riggio filed follow-up documents with the SEC that provide further details about the $250 million in owner financing he is providing the bookseller as part of their purchase of privately-held BN College. The loan is broken into two classes of notes: The first, for $100 million, is payable on December 15, 2010 and earns Riggion interest of 8 percent a year; the second, for $150 million, comes due five years after the purchase closes and pays a healthy 10 percent a year in interest. Meanwhile on the stock market, after jumping almost 20 percent after […]
Bookstores
More In Bookselling: Borders Board; Akademos Gets Funding; Vineyard Stores Team up for Russo; Julia Child and Other Sales Reports
Borders has nominated the five new directors who will stand for election in September to take over from the currently-serving directors who are scheduled to step down: Paul Brown, a unit present at Hilton; Ronald Floto, president, FLT International; Michael Grossman, ceo, Tempo Payments; Dan Rose, a vp at Facebook; and Timothy Wolf, chief integration officer at MillerCoors.Release Higher-Ed online bookstore Akademos has secured $2.5 million funding from Kohlberg Ventures, which they will use “to meet rapidly growing demand for its online bookstore and marketplace services.” Additionally eHarmony chief marketing officer Scott Eagle and Kohlberg partner Bill Youstra have joined […]
Barnes & Noble Will Acquire Private BN College
Barnes & Noble [BKS] announced this morning that the company will acquire the privately-owned Barnes & Noble College operation principally owned by Len Riggio for $596 million, or about $460 million net of the college unit’s cash on hand. One major reason for the combination is the emergence of e-books and BN’s renewed attempts to build their online offerings and compete with Amazon. As Riggio says in the announcement, “Although both companies previously thrived as separate entities, owing to distinctions in their product offerings, the definition of textbooks and trade books has become increasingly blurred. This trend will accelerate with […]
Auditors Raise Doubts on Borders UK's Future
According to accounts filed with Companies House, auditors of Borders UK, sold to Hilco by Luke Johnson and Risk Capital Partners earlier this summer, raised doubts about the ability of the book retailer to continue as a going concern, the FT reports. Ernst & Young, which signed off on the accounts going back to February 2, 2008 on July 31, said Borders UK “faced a number of uncertainties, including that it operated in a highly competitive sector, and the sales performance was difficult to forecast.” A significant quarterly rent cost, ongoing support needed from publishers and availability of credit insurance […]
Bookselling: New Orleans' Maple Street to Close Children's Book Shop
The dedicated Maple Street Children’s Bookshop will turn into a section within an expanded Maple Street Book Shop. The children’s store has been in business since the 1970s. As Nola.com recalls, “A stop by Maple Street Children’s Book Shop was often a cherished part of the weekend family routine, whether it was for the storytimes held every Saturday morning or an afternoon browse.” The building next door “will become a used book store and space for periodicals and gifts,” Nola.com reports.
Bookselling: Borders Adds More Toys, Details Other Kids' Changes
Borders has issued a press release covering a number of their expansions in children’s product lines. Today they say they have “greatly expanded toy and game offerings in its more than 500 superstores.” In addition to the previously reported expansion of Borders Ink Teen Shops (special boutique-like sections within most Borders superstores that feature Young Adult as well as Graphic Novel and Manga titles along with a number of other trendy products), the retailer has added a “picture book feature wall to make shopping easier for parents” and has “moved books for independent readers — kids ages 8 through 12” […]