Bookseller Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) announced on Wednesday that it is considering selling itself after being approached by a number of potential buyers. Shares rose almost 30% in early trading hours on Thursday at the news.
Though once touted as a bookselling behemoth, Barnes & Noble has been experiencing flat sales lately due to the emergence of eReading outlets such as Kindle and the ease of ordering books through online platforms like Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).
"If they can pull something out to save the company that would be great, but they have a real uphill climb," said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners. "They've hung in there despite Amazon and all the rest of it. But the bookstore that solely sells books and periodicals is unfortunately a relic of the past."
Despite its performance struggles, Barnes & Noble stated that it has received "expressions of interest" from various potential buyers. One came from Leonard S. Riggio, the company's chairman, who has been with the company since its foundation and helped grow it from a single location to a national chain. The company also has shareholder rights plan, also known as a "poison pill," to deter unsolicited buyers, after seeing an unexplained run-up in purchases of its shares. The poison-pill plans are often used by companies to defend themselves against hostile takeovers by diluting the value of a would-be acquirer's investment.
"Consumers want unique experiences and escapes - we think they are finding that in independent bookstores," said David Schick, managing partner at Consumer Edge Research. "Consumers want to feel a connection to their stores. We do believe Barnes & Noble can make some enhancements that could matter, but it will take time and investment."
Activist investor Rick Shottenfeld, who holds a 6.9% stake in Barnes & Noble, says the company can boost profits by creating more of a "town square" atmosphere in its brick-and-mortar stores through events like book clubs and children's birthday parties. He views Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) as a possible buyer because Barnes & Noble, like Starbucks, has created what Starbucks founder Howard Schultz has called a "third place" away from home and office where people feel comfortable congregating. Starbucks could very well afford Barnes & Noble, which has a market value of roughly $500 million. Barnes & Noble and Starbucks have already collaborated in the past; most Barnes & Noble locations have a Starbucks attached.