B&N.com buys Fatbrain
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September 13, 2000: 5:35 p.m. ET
Online bookseller acquires Fatbrain.com for $64M stock & cash
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Online bookseller Barnes & Noble.com agreed to acquire Fatbrain.com Inc. Wednesday in a $64 million stock-and-cash deal that will expand the bookseller's reach in the business-to-business marketplace.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Fatbrain.com is an online bookseller that specializes in professional and technology titles for corporations and businesses. New York-based Barnes & Noble.com is the online version of retail chain Barnes & Noble.
Barnes & Noble.com (BNBN: Research, Estimates) will pay $16 million in cash plus $4.25 a share for Fatbrain.com's outstanding shares. The transaction is 75 percent stock and 25 percent cash, a Barnes & Noble.com spokeswoman said.
The merger is expected to close within the next few weeks. Fatbrain.com (FATB: Research, Estimates) will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble.com and its management will stay in place, the Barnes & Noble.com spokeswoman said.
Separately, Fatbrain.com reported losses from operations of $8 million, or 71 cents a diluted share for the second quarter ended July 31, compared with $5.9 million in operational losses, or 52 cents a diluted share, for the same time period in 1999.
"While the synergies derived from our book businesses are an obvious fit and will naturally benefit from increased scale, we believe the incremental resources provided by the Barnes & Noble.com backing and brand will greatly enhance and accelerate the rollout of Information Exchange to corporations seeking to streamline the management and distribution of their publishable materials," said Dennis Capovilla, Fatbrain.com president and chief executive.
Fatbrain.com gained 56 cents to close at $4.38 Wednesday, while Barnes & Noble.com lost 25 cents to $4.38.
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