Microsoft and Barnes & Noble on Monday announced the formation of a
new partnership that will spin the bookseller’s digital Nook and College
businesses into a new unnamed subsidiary. Microsoft’s investment of
$300 million will bring it a 17% stake in the newly formed business,
which is valued at $1.7 billion, and Barnes & Noble will own
approximately 82.4% of the new company.
“The formation of [this new
subsidiary] and our relationship with Microsoft are important parts of
our strategy to capitalize on the rapid growth of the NOOK business, and
to solidify our position as a leader in the exploding market for
digital content in the consumer and education segments,” said William
Lynch, CEO of Barnes & Noble. “Microsoft’s investment in Newco, and
our exciting collaboration to bring world-class digital reading
technologies and content to the Windows platform and its hundreds of
millions of users, will allow us to significantly expand the business.”
Share of Barnes & Noble stock surged 80% in pre-market trading on
the news. Barnes & Noble’s full press release follows below.
