Headlines

Barnes & Noble Won’t Go After Borders

Tough lending markets might make financing difficult to come by

Published

18 years ago

August 18, 2008

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Barnes & Noble Inc. (New York) is not expected to bid for rival Borders Group Inc. (Ann Arbor, Mich.). According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the decision reflects tough lending markets that could make financing difficult as well as concerns about the length of some of the leases Borders has signed. There are also concerns that antitrust authorities would not approve the deal.

Borders put itself up for sale in March due to potential liquidity problems and a failed foreign asset sale. At that time, said ceo George Jones, the company determined that it needed more capital for 2008, and the difficult credit markets rendered some financing alternatives unavailable. In May, The Journal reported that Barnes & Noble had assembled a team to study a bid.

Borders is hoping to complete the auction by the end of September. Both Barnes & Noble and Borders have faced increased competition from online retailers, while overall book sales haven't shown much growth.

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