Borders, which is currently in court protected bankruptcy, has a bid from the investment firm Gores Group which specialises in turn-around situations where it finds the value, re-animates management, and helps the company return to profit, later selling it as a going concern. They have a bid in to buy 265 of the remaining 400ish stores.
Today a second potential bidder has shown up which opeates the same way: it turns around companies and later sells the profit generating venture.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...371762104.html
A couple of snips:
Najafi, a boutique Phoenix-based firm that usually makes investments of $1 billion or less, is competing with Los Angeles-based Gores Group to purchase the beleaguered bookstore chain, the people said. Both Najafi and Gores attempt to buy companies that have fallen on hard times and make money by turning them around.
Founded by Jahm Najafi in 2002, Najafi bought Network Solutions, a provider of Web address registrations, in 2003 for $20 million in cash and an $80 million assumption of debt. In 2007, Najafi flipped the company for $800 million, or more than 30 times its initial investment. Mr. Najafi is also vice chairman of the Phoenix Suns professional basketball team.
Najafi is well-known in the book retail and publishing industries. In 2008, the firm acquired Direct Brands Inc., a direct-marketing company home to brands such as the Book of the Month Club, DoubleDay Book Club and Columbia House DVD.
It would be nice to find a rescue for Borders which was intent on being a bookstore because there is still life in the industry provided the new mix of physical product and customer experience can be delivered.