Microsoft buys stake in Barnes & Noble's digital business

By Robert Broens: Shares of Barnes & Noble (BKS) rose 52% today to $20.75 per share after trading as high as $26 per share earlier. The spike comes after the company announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft (MSFT) which will invest $300 million in the company's Nook. The Deal

Microsoft will invest $300 million in Barnes & Noble?s e-reader business. The deal values the bookseller?s Nook division at $1.7 billion, and Microsoft will assume a 17.6% stake. Barnes & Noble shares soared 101% to $27.80 in pre-market trading this morning, while Microsoft shares rose only 0.2% to $32.14. The move works to support Barnes ...

(Reuters) - British education and media publisher Pearson Plc said it will buy a 5 percent stake in Barnes & Noble Inc's digital Nook and college bookstore businesses for $89.5 million. Barnes & Noble, whose shares rose as much as 6 percent to $15.19 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday morning, said the Nook division will not meet prior expectations for its current year. The top U.S. bookstore chain's Nook Media unit comprises its digital businesses — including Nook e-reader and tablets and the Nook digital bookstore — and 674 college bookstores across America. ...

- By Karin Hernandez:On Monday, April 30, Microsoft (MSFT), the world's leading software company, announced a $300 million joint partnership with Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS), much to the surprise of the market and the utter delight of Barnes & Noble shareholders, who promptly saw a better than 60% gain in their holdings.

NEW YORK/SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is jumping into the fast-growing e-books market by investing $605 million over five years in Barnes & Noble Inc's Nook e-reader and college business, as it looks to unlock Amazon.com and Apple Inc's grip on the exploding tablet computer market.

By Karl Denninger: Now you gone done it Microsoft

Microsoft is investing $300 million with bookseller Barnes & Noble for a 17.6% stake in its digital e-book reader the Nook.