Barnes & Noble Receives Conditional Offer

taming · 02-21-2014, 03:59 PM

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/02/...itional-offer/

From the article:

Quote:

G Asset Management, a little-known investment firm, offered on Thursday to acquire 51 percent of Barnes & Noble in a deal that would value the bookseller’s shares at $22 apiece.

Barnes & Noble stock jumped 10 percent on the news in midday trading on Friday, but did not approach the implied offer price, trading around $18 a share.

If G Asset Management cannot take control of the full company, it said it would be willing to acquire 51 percent of Barnes & Noble’s Nook business, valuing the e-reader unit at $5 per share....

QuantumIguana · 02-21-2014, 04:02 PM

If they can come in and clean house, this may be what the Nook needs to survive.

afv011 · 02-21-2014, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

If they can come in and clean house, this may be what the Nook needs to survive.

I'm afraid that ship's already sailed...

QuantumIguana · 02-21-2014, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by afv011

I'm afraid that ship's already sailed...

The ship may have sailed, but it isn't quite sunk yet. If someone wants to invest, it follows that they think it is salvageable. But if it is going to survive, a house cleaning is going to be needed. If the Nook's problem is that B&N is doing things wrong, the new investors will need to clean house and bring in new people and processes that will work.

Fbone · 02-21-2014, 04:30 PM

This is Michael Glickstein's [of G Asset] third offer for B&N. And he still doesn't have funding. I wonder if B&N considers it a serious offer?

fjtorres · 02-21-2014, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

The ship may have sailed, but it isn't quite sunk yet. If someone wants to invest, it follows that they think it is salvageable. But if it is going to survive, a house cleaning is going to be needed. If the Nook's problem is that B&N is doing things wrong, the new investors will need to clean house and bring in new people and processes that will work.

Nook is not a lost cause but it needs clean sheet management that can come in and credibly repudiate any and all past decisions. And they need to come in within a month or so to have meaningful impact on the upcoming holiday hardware buying season.

BTW, B&N has just under 60m shares outstanding so valuing Nook at $5 a share values the entire operation at $300M. Buying 51% at that price is a pretty low buy-in into ebook retailing.

I doubt this goes anywhere.

taming · 02-21-2014, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjtorres

BTW, B&N has just under 60m shares outstanding so valuing Nook at $5 a share values the entire operation at $300M. Buying 51% at that price is a pretty low buy-in into ebook retailing.

I doubt this goes anywhere.

When Rakuten bought Kobo, they paid $315 Million. I wonder how seriously Rakuten is about expanding US market share? Could Nook look good to them?

In a PR release Feb 14, 3014, Rakuten Reports Consolidated Financial Results for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2012, they said:

Quote:

In the year ending December 31, 2013, we anticipate further expansion in the use of our services in Japan including e-commerce and travel, resulting in continued high growth. In financial services, although there will be a certain degree of impact from financial conditions, we anticipate a continuous growth in earnings created from synergies within the Rakuten Group. Aiming for an early return in income, Rakuten will continue to make strategic allocations of corporate resources and active investments in high-growth areas such as e-books, in order to generate more mid-to-long-term income opportunities.

tomsem · 02-21-2014, 06:25 PM

I think Microsoft would be prepared to match any low-ball offers for a controlling share of Nook. They have a 17% stake and originally pledged to increase that (though it has not happened yet). Their original investment of $300M was to have gone to anywhere between $600-$1B, and if shareholders agree that Nook isn't worth as much now, then even another $300 would go a long way to giving MSFT controlling interest.

Of course their mobile strategy is not going as well as they may have hoped, but they have deep pockets and patience. Nook could factor into it yet.

Top100EbooksRank · 02-22-2014, 08:30 AM

http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...set-management

Quote:

‘No Money’

G Asset’s funds include G Real Estate Partners LP, G Value Partners LP and G Value Fund LLC. G Real Estate filed documents with the SEC in July 2010 stating that the fund had raised about $1.6 million. G Value Partners said in February 2012, the same month that the group reported its Barnes & Noble stake, that it had raised about $1.8 million.

The firm’s current offer for 51 percent of Barnes & Noble would take about $673 million. Without a demonstration of funding, it’s hard to see how a deal could happen, said John Tinker, an analyst at Maxim Group in New York.

“He’s got no money,” Tinker, who has a buy rating on Barnes & Noble shares, said in a phone interview. “Money talks. Even Carl Icahn has to buy a piece of Apple before he can get breakfast or dinner with Tim Cook.”

frahse · 02-23-2014, 08:31 PM

Just B&N's real estate holdings including leases will be worth a lot. Then the inventory comes in. On the other hand, there is the debt including pensions and other payouts.

Sometimes the public offer for a company is on top of the debt load, sometimes not.

(The devil is in the details.)

02-21-2014, 06:25 PM	#8
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,900 Karma: 27013865 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	I think Microsoft would be prepared to match any low-ball offers for a controlling share of Nook. They have a 17% stake and originally pledged to increase that (though it has not happened yet). Their original investment of $300M was to have gone to anywhere between $600-$1B, and if shareholders agree that Nook isn't worth as much now, then even another $300 would go a long way to giving MSFT controlling interest. Of course their mobile strategy is not going as well as they may have hoped, but they have deep pockets and patience. Nook could factor into it yet. Last edited by tomsem; 02-21-2014 at 06:30 PM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Conflict between Barnes & Noble and Simon & Schuster continues	charmian	News	14	03-24-2013 11:48 PM
[Old Thread] Problem reading converted EPUB & PDB on Barnes & Noble eReader	webfolk	Calibre	3	01-09-2012 10:08 PM
Decieving Barnes and Noble offer	kalex	Barnes & Noble NOOK	4	02-27-2011 05:09 PM
Neo Barnes & Noble from the UK	Fith	BeBook	5	04-26-2010 05:20 PM
Barnes & Noble	mycart	Introduce Yourself	5	02-03-2010 12:14 PM

02-21-2014, 04:02 PM	#2
QuantumIguana Philosopher Posts: 2,034 Karma: 18736532 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2 gen, Kindle Fire 1st Gen, Kindle Touch	If they can come in and clean house, this may be what the Nook needs to survive.

02-21-2014, 04:30 PM	#5
Fbone Is that a sandwich? Posts: 8,282 Karma: 101696762 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Nook Glowlight Plus	This is Michael Glickstein's [of G Asset] third offer for B&N. And he still doesn't have funding. I wonder if B&N considers it a serious offer?

02-23-2014, 08:31 PM	#10
frahse occasional author Posts: 2,315 Karma: 2064403292 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Wandering God's glorious hills, valleys and plains. Device: A Franklin BI (before Internet) was the first. I still have it.	Just B&N's real estate holdings including leases will be worth a lot. Then the inventory comes in. On the other hand, there is the debt including pensions and other payouts. Sometimes the public offer for a company is on top of the debt load, sometimes not. (The devil is in the details.)

Advert

Advert