Once again, rumors are flying that Barnes & Noble is going private. Investors are loving it.
Shares of the bookseller jumped 12% after The Wall Street Journal reported that an activist investor made a $650 million proposal to take the company private.
Sandell Asset Management Corp, which bought a stake in Barnes & Noble in July, reportedly offered the company a plan that would value it at more than $9 a share. Shares of Barnes & Noble had been trading at $7.25 mid-day Thursday.
Barnes & Noble and Sandell did not immediately respond to request for comment.
This isn’t the first time Sandell has attempted to take Barnes & Noble private.
Barnes & Noble’s stock spiked 17% in July after Sandell approached it with an offer, but the bookstore rebuffed the plan.
The trouble Barnes & Noble faces are familiar for retailers: Amazon has eaten into sales at its 632 locations across the country, leading to tumbling profit over the past several years. Sales were down more than 6% last year.
“2017 has proved to be an extremely challenging year for Barnes & Noble,” chairman Leonard Riggio wrote in a June letter to shareholders. “Consumers are changing their shopping behavior and we have to do a better job of anticipating their needs.”
Despite the boost it received from takeover rumors, the bookseller is down nearly 34% this year and more than 50% over the past three years.