MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
Sept 27 – Oct 3, 2010 Edition Riggio Defeats Burkle for Control of Barnes & Noble
NEW YORK, NY/AUTHORLINK NEWS/September 28, 2010–Barnes & Noble Inc. and Chairman Leonard Riggio have beaten back activist investors and Ronald Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos. In their attempt to end Mr. Riggio’s nearly four decades of control over the nation’s largest bookstore chain, according to the Wall Street Journal today.
Mr. Riggio announced in the companys annual meeting that he and two other company-nominated directors, David Golden and David Wilson, bested Mr. Burkle and Yucaipa’s other two nominees. Messrs. Golden and Wilson were named by Barnes & Noble after two incumbent directors decided not to stand for re-election following complaints from Yucaipa that they were too close to Leonard Riggio and his family.
Mr. Burkle, who did not attend the meeting in New York City, conceded to Mr. Riggio in a statement before Riggio announced the results. He attributed his defeat to an “insurmountable insider voting advantage.” Yucaipa, which owns 19% of the company, said preliminary vote tallies show none of the company nominees garnered even 50% of the vote, and blamed the 38% of shares owned by Mr. Riggio, insiders and employees for the company’s victory. Read the full story in the Wall Street Journal.
