In an auction that stretched late into the afternoon, the five remaining stores owned by Joseph-Beth found a variety of new owners, some of which were unexpected. Liquidation firm Gordon Brothers was the high bidder for the Memphis-based Davis-Kidd and the Fredericksburg, VA stores, but immediately transferred ownership of the VA store to Books-A-Million, which has a significant presence in the state. The outcome for stores in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Lexington, however, provided a late-game surprise, with the Mall on Lexington Green emerging as the high bidder. Until late last week Joseph-Beth president Neil van Uum was the only announced […]
Finance
Reversal of Fortune: Barnes & Noble Rises 14% on 3 Mil Shares, Breaks $10 A Share
Barnes & Noble shares took a wild ride in Tuesday trading. At one point (as we wrote yesterday) they were as low as $8.45–the lowest intraday mark since January 1996. But just after 1:00 PM shares took off, briefly breaking the $10 mark and closing at $9.96 a share. Up over 13.5% for the day, almost three million shares traded hands. The company’s stock is extremely sensitive to market movements now, with very high short interest, so the day’s movement could be a short squeeze, or it could represent anticipation of deal news. Yesterday’s BN news actually leaned in the […]
Creditors Support Revised Borders Bonuses But Judge Wants Changes; Recovery Prospects Are Low
US Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn wants further revisions in Borders proposed executive bonus plan, even though the creditors committee supported a revised proposal that would reward the top five executives based on how much money they recover for creditors and dependent on whether the company either reorganizes or is sold by August 15. The new version of the plan would give those five employees up to $4.9 million if the unsecured creditors receive more than $95 million, and up to $1.8 million if the the recovery is $73 million or more. More interesting than the maneuverings is what those ranges […]
Borders Says Dozens of Executives Have Resigned; Postpones SEC Reports
The judge overseeing the Borders bankruptcy case will convene a hearing this afternoon focused on the company’s motion to implement a bonus retention plan for its executives. (The judge will also rule on a motion to reject a few more leases.) In a reply to objections to the bonuses by the US bankruptcy trustee, the company underscores the real problem: dozens of its executives either don’t have faith in their plan or simply don’t want to work there. Since they asked for the bonuses on March 24, two of the top 17 executives (an unamed svp and vp) have quit, […]
Briefs: US Trustee Objects to Borders Executive Bonuses; Indigo Faces Its ‘Starbucks Moment’; Kobo European Push; and More
Last week Tracy Hope Davis of the US Trustee’s Office filed an objection to Borders’ plan to pay executives up to $8.3 million in bonuses on the grounds that the bonus motion “is premature and should not be granted.” Borders had characterized the bonus plan as “providing necessary incentives” but the Trustee’s Office felt “there is no information that explains what extra services the insiders would perform beyond their ordinary job duties or a detailed description of the nexus between the supposed incentives and the payment trigger.” In addition, Davis said, the motion “provides no financial performance metrics nor are […]
Briefs: A Million eBook Sales for ‘Dragon Tattoo’; Legal Action Against Breakaway Angus & Robertson Franchises; and More
Knopf says that Stieg Larsson‘s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has sold over a million eBook copies, and adds to us that The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest will reach that same milestone next week. (No word, however, on which e-vendor sold the millionth copy.) NYT Earlier this week a number of Barnes & Noble executives each disposed a small amount of stock at $9.18 per share, according to a number of SEC filings. Leading the group was Stephen Riggio, who decreased his total holdings by 3,136 shares to 96,924 shares. REDGroup administrators Ferrier Hodgson have taken their […]