Barnes & Noble receives $1 billion buyout bid from Liberty Media

Barnes & Noble receives $1 billion buyout bid from Liberty Media

2011-05-20 21:40:17 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- Book store giant Barnes & Noble, Inc. on Friday announced that it had received a proposal from Liberty Media to acquire the company at a price of $17 per share in cash, that is, $1.02 billion. 

The proposal would give Liberty Media - which holds interests in QVC, Provide Commerce, the Starz channels, Bodybuilding.com, Evite, and Expedia, among others - a 70 percent stake in Barnes & Noble, one of the largest booksellers in the world with 705 traditional bookstores in 50 states.

At $17 per share, the proposal represents a 20.5 percent premium to the $14.11 that the book retailer's shares closed at most recently.

The proposal, which is subject to, among other things, the signing of a definitive purchase agreement, customary closing conditions, such as the receipt of regulatory and shareholder approvals, and receipt of acceptable debt financing, was received by Barnes & Noble's Special Committee of its Board of Directors, and it will be evaluating the proposal with its financial advisors.

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