A report that Microsoft Corp. is considering an offer to acquire all of Nook Media’s digital assets sent Barnes & Noble Inc. shares up 27 in premarket trading.
It was not clear from the TechCrunch story whether Microsoft has formally made that offer to Barnes & Noble’s board, or whether Barnes & Noble has replied.
Microsoft already owns a substantial stake in the business, but the technology industry website TechCrunch reported the company was proposing a $1 billion offer to buy the rest of Nook’s digital assets. Nook Media also includes the college bookstore chain.
Barnes & Noble declined to comment and Microsoft was not immediately available.
Shares in the bookselling chain rose to $22.50 in premarket trading from a $17.77 close on Wednesday.
The Nook business has struggled in the face of heavy competition from Amazon.com Inc. and other players in the tablet market. Just this week, the company slashed the price of its top-end Nook tablet by one-third as a special Mother’s Day promotion.
