Finance

Bookstore chain Books-A-Million Inc. says its last-minute talks to buy the leases and assets of 30 Borders bookstores out of bankruptcy have fallen through.

The impending shutdown of Borders Group Inc. has spelled uncertainty for Canadian digital bookseller Kobo, whose partnership with Borders marked the chain’s too-little, too-late effort to cross over into the digital realm.

Borders was an early investor in Kobo and still holds an 11% stake in the Toronto-based company, which is also backed by majority shareholder Indigo Books & Music Inc., Cheung Kong Holdings and others.

The Borders Group said Monday that it would liquidate, shutting down the 40-year-old bookseller after it failed to find a last-minute savior.
Though it is not a big surprise, the move will still strip the publishing industry of shelf space that is becoming increasingly scarce as brick-and-mortar stores continue to founder.

Borders said it would proceed with a proposal by the private equity firms Hilco and the Gordon Brothers Group to close down its 399 remaining stores. That liquidation plan will be presented on Thursday to the federal judge overseeing the company’s bankruptcy case.

This blog is the second in a series of six blogs, each including one of the six traps to avoid when negotiating large-quantity book sales

The deal between private equity firm Najafi Cos. and The Borders Group, which filed for bankruptcy protection in February, is off.

Borders Group Inc. (BGP) asked a bankruptcy judge to overrule landlords’ objections to the proposed sale of the bookstore chain’s assets and promised to provide more information about leases by next week.

Borders is trying to resolve objections from landlords at several locations, the company said in papers filed yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. The structure of the $215.1 million sale to Najafi Cos., which still requires an auction to test for higher bids, is set to go before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn tomorrow.

Transcontinental Inc. and Quad/Graphics Inc. have entered into an agreement in which Transcontinental will indirectly acquire all Quad Graphics Canada Inc. shares.

Ingram Publisher Services Inc., an Ingram Content Group Company, today announced agreements with four new publishers.

Borders, the bookstore operator looking to reorganize in bankruptcy, has so far failed to find a bidder for the entire chain, according to four people familiar with the matter. 

Domtar Corporation today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share to holders of its common stock