It's not an acquisition, but I guess we can call it the next best thing. Liberty has decided that it made better sense to buy into a piece of Barnes and Noble than to buy them out. "Liberty Media said it has agreed to purchase $204 million of Barnes & Noble preferred stock, a deal which would eventually give it a 16.6 % stake and trumps a $1 billion bid the media giant had made for the troubled book retailer in May." While this cash can certainly help B&N, one hopes that Liberty also enters into more strategic partnerships to augment the value of the relationship between its own content and distribution and their stores and Nook devices.
As a lover of books and a B&N customer, my family and I frequently visit. Sometimes we buy, sometimes we browse. I like seeing that our store has expanded its inventory a bit with more gift ideas and other merchandise. And I'd like to see more. I hope with a commitment by Liberty, more brick and mortar as well as digital growth can occur. It's not an acquisition, but it is the next best thing.
