[SensualPoet]

It could be B&N is trying to figure out how to simply raise cash to save the core business.

Many of us were surprised that Kobo was sold for $300 million to Japanese e-commerce player Rakuten in November. ALL of B&N is valued at around $1 billion, and that includes 1300+ bricks and mortar consumer and college stores, as well as the Nook business.

If Kobo was worth $300 million cash, what is Nook worth, to the right buyer? And could that cash (and some longer-term royalty arrangement on content sales) be the ticket to B&N turning around its retail business finding a profitable long term landing?

There is no way to spin this favourably, however: Liberty Media walked away from a $1 billion purchase last summer and settled for a $200 million preferred share investment with an implied price of $17/share. Currently, B&N is trading close to $10 (where it has been up and down over the past 18 months).