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Originally Posted by Fbone
Interesting. Google certainly has the cash. Off hand I can't think of another company with the cash and experience that may want to take over B&N. Except a venture capital firm or Warren Buffet.
It's been very difficult for ereader companies to earn a profit. I am not sure any of them actually have.
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Well, Google would only be interested in the Nook part of the business, with a commercial agreement for integration with stores, etc.
Liberty Capital, a John Malone company, was thinking of buying out B&N but they settled for a convertible preferred I believe. So Liberty gets a nice dividend and are in the money on the options at like $17.
My reading is that if you really believe in the Nook and the ability to save the stores, then B&N is worth well more than $17. But I think they will ultimately come up short, and will thus be worth close to nothing in the end. This is why I think selling the Nook now, but with a partnership with Google, makes some sense since u retain the benefits of the Nook business, the upside and integration with the stores yet limit the downside (possible failure of Nook and the high cost of the business).