Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Ticker Symbol:
NYSE: BKS
Practice:
Securities Fraud & Shareholder Litigation
Phase:
Current On August 18, 2009, Chimicles & Tikellis LLP filed a derivative action complaint on behalf of Barnes & Noble Inc. (“B&N” or the “Company”), in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (the “Action”). The Action alleges wrongdoing by the B&N directors for recklessly causing the Company to acquire Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, Inc. (“College Books”) (the “Transaction”) from B&N’s founder, Chairman and controlling stockholder, Leonard Riggio (“Riggio”) at a grossly excessive price, subjecting B&N to excessive risk.
On August 7, 2009, B&N agreed to acquire the privately-held College Books from Riggio, in a transaction valued at $596 million. In the Acquisition, B&N received the “Barnes & Noble” trade name, which was owned by College Books and which B&N licensed from College Book and College Books’ brick and mortar operations. The Transaction was completed on September 30, 2009.
The Action alleges that as a controlling stockholder of B&N, Riggio is obligated to sell College Books at a price entirely fair to B&N’s stockholders and engage in a process that is also entirely fair. The Action further alleges that the B&N Board members acted disloyally and caused B&N to waste valuable corporate assets by allowing the B&N Chairman and 32.1% shareholder, Riggio, to force B&N to acquire his company, College Books, at an unfairly high price, exposing B&N to substantial increased risk.
After the announcement of the Transaction, multiple actions were filed challenging the Transaction. On September 1, 2009, the Court appointed Chimicles & Tikellis LLP as Co-Lead Counsel in the Action. On November 3, 2009 Co-Lead Plaintiffs filed a Verified Consolidated Shareholder Derivative Complaint under seal, a public version of which is available below.
Attorneys to Contact:
Pamela S. Tikellis (PamelaTikellis@chimicles.com)
Tiffany J. Cramer (TiffanyCramer@chimicles.com)
Scott M. Tucker (ScottTucker@chimicles.com)
P.O. Box 1035, 222 Delaware Ave, Suite 1100, Wilmington, DE 19801 Phone: 302-656-2500