Barnes & Noble Denies Rumors Of Sales

In a messy game of telephone, Street Insider said that Bloomberg said that Dealreporter said that Barnes & Noble, Inc. BKS denied reports it was involved in talks to sell.

Dealreporter sources allegedly said Barnes & Noble had been working with financial adviser Guggenheim Securities for six months as it interacted with multiple potential buyers, including Apollo Global Management APO and Platinum Equity.

However, a Barnes & Noble spokesperson told Benzinga the company is not presently engaged in a sales process.

Closer Look

Small inaccuracies in the story merit further suspicion of the rumor's veracity.

For one, Barnes & Noble’s relationship with Guggenheim is not new; it has worked with the investment banker since at least 2013. Additionally, despite Debtwire reports that the company is looking to sell its real estate, a recent 10-K filing confirmed that Barnes & Noble leases rather than owns all but one of its stores.

The rumors follow pressure by activist investor Sandell Asset Management Corp. urging the board to perform a strategic review and consider a sale.

At time of publication, Barnes & Noble was trading at $7.68, up 5.9 percent on the day.

Image credit: Mike Kalasnik, Flickr