August 6 was the closing date for the tender offer for Barnes & Noble shares, and Elliott Advisors reports that approximately 82 percent of all shares outstanding were tendered. Those shares — and with it the entire BN — are paid for today, August 7, and Barnes & Noble has officially become a “privately held,…
M&A
Shareholder Sues Over Barnes & Noble Sale; F+W UK Books Business Sold
Investor Richard Scarantino filed suit in a Delaware Federal Court against Barnes & Noble, seeking class action status on behalf of stockholders, arguing that the company’s tender offer solicitation “omits material information with respect to the Proposed Transaction, which renders the Solicitation Statement false and misleading.” From a Google search, filing lawsuits just like this…
Investor Sues Barnes & Noble Education Over Blocked Board Nominations, Rejected Buyout Offers
Barnes & Noble Education, which has worked hard to perform even more poorly than the Barnes & Noble retail operation since the two split apart almost 4 years ago, now finds itself the focus of its own strange potential sale. Bay Capital Finance, which appears to be focused on real estate development, says it has…
Quad’s Request For Speed Is Denied, Antitrust Trial Set for November
Judge Charles R. Norgle denied Quad’s request for an expedited trial in the DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit against the company’s planned merger with rival printer LSC. Instead, Norgle only slightly modified the Department of Justice’s proposed schedule, setting November 14 as the trial’s start date. That could be delayed, however, as he noted that “there are…
Editis to Acquire Archipel in France
France’s second-largest publisher Editis — bought by Vivendia from Planeta earlier this year — is in exclusive negotiations to acquire L’Archipel. (Generally speaking, these exclusive negotiations lead to a formal acquisition, and the parties speak about it as a done deal in their press release.) L’Archipel will remain under the direction of founder and president…
PRH Pays Modestly for F+W Books
Paperwork filed with the bankruptcy court overseeing the sale of F+W Media’s assets shows that Penguin Random House won the F+W Books list with a modest bid. They are paying $3 million at closing, with subsequent payments due equal to 70 percent of recent accounts receivable, plus 15 percent of the value of the printed…