Liberty Media abandons takeover, buys 16.6 % of Barnes & Noble
19 Aug 2011
Liberty Media Corp, run by billionaire John Malone, has abandoned buying Barnes & Noble, but has bought a minority stake in the largest bookstore chain in the US, three months after it proposed acquiring the company for $1.02-billion.
Liberty, the Englewood, Colorado-based entertainment and e-commerce conglomerate, has invested $204 million by purchasing new preferred stock that can be converted into 12 million common shares.
The shares, which represent 16.6 per cent of Barnes & Noble stock, were purchased at $17 each.
The minority-stake deal will give Liberty two board seats to Barnes & Noble, which will be expanded to 11 members.
In May, Liberty made a $1.02-billion buyout offer for 70 per cent control of New York-based Barnes & Noble, 10 months after the world's largest bookseller had put itself for sale. (See: Barnes & Noble receives $1.02 billion buyout offer from Liberty Media Corp)
Liberty had offered Barnes & Noble $17-a-share in cash, valuing the company at $1.02 billion including $450 million debt. The offer represented a premium of 20 per cent to Barnes & Noble's closing stock price of $14.11 on 19 May, a day before Liberty made the offer.
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