With continuing uncertainty about the economy and the rise of ebooks, some bookselling-related stocks are experiencing a rough ride. Yesterday and again today Barnes & Noble’s shares have flirted with their lowest levels in a year, and the stock is down approximately five percent this morning. With a market cap down to a little over $900 million, the bookseller’s dividend now provides a yield of over 6 percent. Amazon has suffered recently as well, at about $117.75 well down from their recent high of $150 a share in April though still at relatively high levels for the company. Books-A-Million is […]
Finance
More Details on Thomas Nelson Sale
Dow Jones says that regulatory filings from when Thomas Nelson was first taken private in 2006 indicate that InterMedia Partners borrowed up to $292 million from Credit Suisse to finance the $473 million purchase. The wire service says that InterMedia has retained a minority interest in the publisher after selling a majority stake to Kohlberg & Co. Thomas Nelson spokesperson Lindsey Nobles “said the deal would make Thomas Nelson a more aggressive acquirer of other companies.”
Now, New Ownership and Restructuring for Thomas Nelson
On the heels of last week’s announced debt restructure and new ownership at F+W Media, privately-held Thomas Nelson announced that an investor group led by Kohlberg & Company has purchased a majority stake in the publisher. Equity from the new investors “will significantly improve the company’s capital structure and eliminate the majority of its long-term debt.” Nelson had been taken private in 2006 with financing from private equity group InterMedia Partners VII in a deal valuing the company at approximately $473 million. At the time, as the Tennessean reminds us, the purchasers said they were financing approximately 60 percent of […]
Borders Said to Lay Off Store-Based Paperchase Employees
According to a message board populated by anonymous Borders employees, all store-based Paperchase merchandisers/managers in the over 337 in-store shops within Borders stores have been let go. Some posts on that same board suggest that regional managers are being given notice as well. One employee writes, “As I understood it, the entire Paperchase field team has been eliminated.” Borders spokesperson Mary Davis says that regional managers are not affected and will continue in their current roles. On the broader reductions, the company says: “Borders is always looking for opportunities to improve performance and profitability. The changes we have made in […]
More iPad (and Wall Street) Numbers
Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty raised her forecast (e.g. “guess”) for iPad sales within 2010 to 10 million units (up from 6 million), and sees a range for the first 12 months of sale of between 13 million and 16 million units. On that basis, Huberty declares the tablet is “on pace to become one of the most popular devices in mobile history.” She concludes that the iPad is already responsible for a drop in netbook sales in April. Huberty also raised her price target on Apple stock to $332 a share (with her most optimistic iPad projections pushing the […]
Reflecting Weak Market, WH Smith Confirms Sales Decline
WH Smith issued a brief trading update for the 14 weeks ending June 5. With the UK book market in general decline, their High Street stores declined 4 percent on a like-for-like basis compared to a year ago. Their travel stores were also down 4 percent overall, which they somehow parsed into 2 percent regular decline and 2 percent volcanic ash decline.