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Microsoft Acquires $300M Stake In Barnes & Noble’s Nook

[Techtaffy Newsdesk]

Barnes & Noble and Microsoft have formed a partnership in a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary. The new subsidiary will bring together the digital and College businesses of Barnes & Noble. Microsoft will make a $300 million investment in the subsidiary at a post-money valuation of $1.7 billion in exchange for an approximately 17.6% equity stake. Barnes & Noble will own approximately 82.4% of the new subsidiary, which will have an ongoing relationship with the company’s retail stores. The name of the new subsidiary is yet to be decided.

As you may have guessed, this will mean that there will be a Nook application for Windows 8, which will provide access to Barnes & Noble’s catalogues of e-Books, magazines and newspapers to Windows customers in the U.S. and internationally. Barnes & Noble’s Nook Study software will also provide a technology platform for the distribution and management of digital education materials in the market through the newly formed subsidiary.

Barnes & Noble and Microsoft have settled their patent litigation, and moving forward, Barnes & Noble and the newly formed subsidiary will have a royalty-bearing license under Microsoft’s patents for its Nook eReader and Tablet products.

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