Deals
Barnes & Noble May Face Trial Over Bookstore Deal
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Barnes & Noble Inc. lost a bid to dismiss an investor lawsuit claiming some directors violated their duties in the $596 million buyout of a college bookstore chain from the retailer’s founder, Leonard Riggio.
Barnes & Noble, the largest U.S. bookstore chain, was sued in August 2009 in Delaware Chancery Court by the Louisiana Municipal Police Employees Retirement System, which claimed the payment for Barnes & Noble College Booksellers Inc. was “well beyond” a fair price, and that some board members were conflicted by long-term friendships with Riggio. The founder, with about a 30 percent stake in the company, “used his influence” to facilitate the buyout, the retirement system claimed.