( 4UMF NEWS ) Microsoft Announces New Venture:
Microsoft Corp has agreed to invest $300 million in Barnes & Noble Inc’s Nook digital-book business and college texts, in a deal that helps establish the value of the popular Nook business while giving Microsoft a foothold in the e-book market.
Shares of Barnes & Noble nearly doubled in premarket trading after the deal was announced on Monday. The agreement values the Nook and textbook business at $1.7 billion, the companies said.
The deal gives Microsoft Corp a 17.6 percent stake in a new subsidiary for the business, a new company which will still have an existing relationship with Barnes & Noble’s stores, the largest bookstore chain in the United States, the companies said.
The investment from Microsoft gives new firepower to Barnes & Noble, which has been engaged in an expensive battle with Amazon.com’s market-leading Kindle as well as Apple Inc‘s iPad.
“It gives them a much larger partner with deeper pockets, it gives them increased reach,” said Morningstar analyst Peter Wahlstrom. “In the last two years they’ve had their backs against the wall.”
The companies have also settled their patent litigation. Last year, Microsoft filed lawsuits for patent infringement against Barnes & Noble over the Nook in part of its assault on devices running on Google Inc‘s Android system.
Related articles
- Barnes and Noble in E-Book Venture (abcnews.go.com)
- Barnes and Noble and Microsoft ‘Nook up’ for digital joint venture (9to5mac.com)
- Barnes & Noble shares soar on Microsoft deal (vancouversun.com)
- Barnes & Noble/Microsoft deal settles patent dispute (h-online.com)
