John Malone's Liberty Media Corp (LINTA.O) has proposed to purchase Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS.N) for $1.02 billion, nine months after the largest U.S. bookstore chain put itself up for sale. Liberty Media is offering $17 per share, a 20.5 percent premium over Barnes & Noble's closing share price on Thursday, in a deal that would give it a foothold in the growing e-books industry dominated by Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O). Barnes & Noble, which has faced years of declining print book sales, put itself up for sale last August saying its shares were undervalued. It has been investing in developing its popular Nook e-reader, launched in 2009, in a bid to remake itself as a digital bookseller and avoid the fate of rival Borders Group Ltd (BGPIQ.PK), which filed for bankruptcy protection in February.
Liberty Media Corporation is a holding company, and through its subsidiaries, is engaged in the video and online commerce, media, communications and entertainment industries. Shares of LINTA traded higher by 2.16% or $0.38/share to $17.97. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $10.08 and as high as $18.65. On average, 4243900 shares of LINTA exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 4050800.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (Barnes & Noble) is a bookseller. Shares of BKS traded higher by 0.93% or $0.13/share to $14.11. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $8.45 and as high as $20.45. On average, 1313520 shares of BKS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 734130.
Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon.com) is a customer-centric company for three primary customer sets: consumers, sellers and enterprises. Shares of AMZN traded higher by 0.87% or $1.715/share to $198.805. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $105.80 and as high as $206.39. On average, 5543570 shares of AMZN exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3702622.
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