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Booksellers plan Web IPO
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March 18, 1999: 10:27 a.m. ET
Barnes & Noble, Bertelsmann to sell 15%-20% of Web site in offering
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Barnes & Noble's Web site will trade separately from the book retailer's common stock as the result of an initial public offering filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said Thursday.
Both Barnes & Noble (BKS) and its partner in the Web site, the German publishing company Bertelsmann AG, said they'll offer about 15 percent-20 percent of the shares in barnesandnoble.com. No target price or offering size has been announced.
Barnes & Noble said proceeds of the offering will be used to expand the e-commerce business through new systems and distribution initiatives, as well as acquisitions and general corporate purposes. Leonard Riggio, Barnes & Noble's chairman, will also serve as chairman of barnesandnoble.com, which is in fierce competition with online bookselling leader Amazon.com (AMZN).
The offering will be managed by a syndicate led by Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch. The stock will trade on the Nasdaq with the symbol BNBN.
Barnes & Noble shares were up 2-3/8 at 31-1/4 in early trading Thursday. 
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