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Non-Tech : Borders Group (BGP) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: blankmind who wrote (254)	3/18/1999 12:07:00 PM
From: Zakrosian	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 411

Hmmm, think there's any possibility that Borders could be considering this as well? NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE:BKS - news), the No. 1 U.S. bookstore chain, and German media giant Bertelsmann AG Thursday registered for an initial public offering of 15 to 20 percent of their online joint venture, barnesandnoble.com. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, barnesandnoble.com said it would offer shares valued at up to $200 million. The companies each own half of the online bookseller. Barnes & Noble previously delayed the planned IPO of the online unit when Bertelsmann agreed in October to buy 50 percent for $200 million. ''barnesandnoble.com could be the biggest IPO for 1999...and maybe for the end of the millennium,'' said David Menlow of IPO Financial Network. Barnes & Noble shares rose $4.50, to $33.38, in morning trade after the announcement on the New York Stock Exchange. The online unit entered the race for Internet bookselling following Amazon.com, the giant of online retailing of books, music and videos. It is distinct from Amazon, however, in that it retains ties to a traditional bookseller. Barnes & Noble's initial online store opened in March 1997, and since then has sold products to 1.5 million customers in 181 countries, according to the SEC filing, but trails behind Amazon in its customer base. The site had $61.8 million in sales in 1998 but lost $83.1 million during the period. Internet retailers frequently lose money as they spend to increase their reach, and barnesandnoble.com said development costs, payments to strategic partners and advertising contributed to the losses. The site currently has promotional partnerships with America Online Inc., Lycos Inc. and Microsoft Corp. . Leonard Riggio, the chairman and chief executive of Barnes & Noble, will serve as chairman of the online venture, and Bertelsmann executive Jonathan Bulkeley will be CEO. Bulkeley was previously managing director of AOL U.K., the British operation of the European joint venture between America Online and Bertelsmann. Proceeds from the offering will be used by barnesandnoble.com for new systems and distribution initiatives, acquisitions and general purposes. The Class A common shares to be offered will list on the Nasdaq stock market under the symbol ''BNBN,'' the companies said. The offering is being underwritten by a syndicate of investment banks led by Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch and including Salomon Smith Barney and Wit Capital, an investment banker that pioneered taking companies public via the Internet and that itself is planning an IPO.