Photo credit: Mike Kalasnik, Flickr

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (BKS) has officially entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by hedge fund Elliott Management for $6.50 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $683 million.

This is not first acquisition Elliott has made of a large bookseller. In June 2018, the firm acquired Waterstones, the largest retail bookseller in the UK.

What To Know

Following the close of the transaction, Elliott will own both Barnes & Noble and Waterstones, and each bookseller will operate independently but share a common CEO. James Daunt, CEO of Waterstones, will assume the role of CEO of Barnes & Noble following the completion of the transaction and will be based in New York.

The $6.50 per share purchase price represents a 43 percent premium to the 10-day volume weighted average closing share price of Barnes & Noble’s common stock ended June 5, 2019, the day before rumors of a potential transaction were reported in the media.

Why It's Important

“Physical bookstores the world over face fearsome challenges from online and digital. We meet these with investment and with all the more confidence for being able to draw on the unrivaled bookselling skills of these two great companies. As a place in which to choose a book, and for the sheer pleasure of visiting, we know that a good bookstore has no equal,” said Daunt in a press release.

Barnes & Noble shares were trading up 9.7 percent at $6.54 in Friday's pre-market session. The stock jumped 29 percent on Thursday on rumors this deal could come soon.