Published on 30th April 2012
“Microsoft Corp is making a $300m investment in Barnes & Noble Inc's Nook digital-book business and college-texts unit in a move that helps value the prized Nook business, the companies said. Microsoft will have a 17.6% stake in a new subsidiary for the businesses in a transaction that values them at $1.7bn, the companies said. That compares with Barnes & Noble's current market capitalisation of about $791m and could fuel the argument of some analysts and investors that the digital business should be separated from the retail division,” writes the Wall Street Journal.