The company, which has struggled in the market for books mutation revealed that Leonard Riggio is considering proposing to buy the retail operations of Barnes & Noble. Riggio has not yet made a formal offer but said in a regulatory filing that it intends to negotiate a price with the Board of Directors of Barnes & Noble stores and 689 websites. The majority of the purchase would be made with cash, says Riggio. It is the largest shareholder of the company with many stake.The exclude 30 percent of Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader and tablet business, however, increases the chances of the company would split into two companies.
Barnes & Noble said in a press release that the strategic committee of three independent directors of the Board will evaluate the proposal. The company did not provide a deadline for review of the.
A spokesperson for Barnes & Noble declined to comment further at CNET.
Barnes & Noble is struggling as more consumers choose to buy digital books instead of brick and mortar stores. It has its own digital read operations, but it also faces stiff competition from Amazon, Apple and others. While Barnes & Noble has expanded its tablet and e-reader online sales of its corners are below expectations, including during the key holiday season.
The company earlier this month said he expects a greater loss of its activity Nook for fiscal 2013, which ends in April.
The operator library has been exploring options for its e-reader and tablet business, including possibly splitting operations. He also partnered for its Nook with Microsoft and Pearson.
The New York Times reported yesterday that Barnes & Noble "get away" from building his own equipment for a strategy that focuses on content licenses to third party developers. The report says that the company is not completely out of the hardware, but it will look much of its catalog of content.
Riggio noted in the regulatory filing today that it "intends to make a proposal to facilitate the assessment of the company's previously announced review of strategic options for the separation of its investment in Nook Media LLC ".
