UK publisher Pearson invest in Nook

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Barnes & Noble’s Nook have slowly been making inroads into the UK market, selling their ereaders at grocery chain Sainsbury’s and through the bookstore chain Blackwells. Now it seems things are looking up for B&N with today’s announcement that UK publisher Pearson has bought a 5% stake in Nook Media for $89.5M. Previously, Microsoft had invested in Nook Media, which have been aggressively pursuing the academic market in the U.S., with Microsoft now owning a 16.8% share in the company. In the UK I expect to see B&N adopt the Read More …

Microsoft buy portion of B&N’s Nook

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Just a few months ago it was rumored that B&N would no longer develop the Nook, and Nook owners were worried about the fate of their devices. Today, it was announced that Microsoft have bought a 17.6% stake in the company, and plans are to integrate the Nook into the Windows operating system. On the surface this seems like exciting news, but with the advance criticism of Microsoft’s Windows 8 already making the rounds, it will be interesting to see how lucrative, if at all, this deal is for B&N. Read More …