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July 19 – July 24, 2010 Edition BN Stocks Fall, Court Battle Heats Up
NEW YORK, NY/AUTHORLINK NEWS/July 19, 2010–Shares of Barnes & Noble, Inc. fell Friday to a new 52 week low by trading below $12.15. Traders are carefully monitoring the action to see if further selling occurs, or if the stock has reached a tradable bottom.
The plunge comes at a time when Barnes & Noble is in the final week of courtroom arguments between the company and its second-largest shareholder, Ron Burkle. Burkle, founder of the private equity firm Yucaipa Cos, filed the suit against Barnes & Noble to oppose the so-called “poison pill’ measure, which prevents any shareholder from holding 20% or more of B&N stock. The measure is meant to prevent outside investors from attempting a hostile takeover bid, but it does not affect the company’s chief shareholder, former chairman Leonard Riggio, who with his family holds more than 31% of the stock. Burkle currently holds 19.6% and reportedly would buy a bigger stake in the bookseller if he could.
See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/cJAfQX
Both Leonard Riggio and Ron Burkle are testifying in the trial, which opened July 8.
