Shareholders continue to express confidence in bookstores, if not B&N’s management
Catching up with PW's Andrew Albanese
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A Securities and Exchange Commission filing has revealed that an investment group led by Richard Schottenfeld has recently acquired a 5.68% stake in Barnes & Noble. According to the SEC filing, Schottenfeld began buying B&N shares on May 29 and made his most recent purchase in mid-July, accumulating about 4.2 million B&N shares, and paying $5.32 and $6.57 per share.
Almost exactly a year ago, Thomas Sandell, another investor with an eye on the giant bookseller, wrote to the B&N board of directors and urged them to pull the company from public markets.
Both suitors have made similarly bullish statements on B&N’s potential, notes Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer.
In their SEC filing, Schottenfeld reps write that Barnes & Noble share are “substantially undervalued and represent an attractive investment opportunity.” In July 2017, Sandell declared, “It is our contention that physical books, and physical bookstores, are not going away anytime soon.” Over the last twelve months, B&N’s share price has fallen 25 percent from $8 to $5.95. Earlier in July, CEO Demos Parneros was fired without explanation
“For a second straight year, despite poor results and anything but stable management, we see that shareholders continue to express confidence in bookstores, if not B&N’s management,” Albanese tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally.
Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.
