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November 19 – November 26, 2009 Edition

Goldman Sachs Leary of Barnes & Noble Stock

NEW YORK, NY/Authorlink News/11/18/09–Goldman Sachs, early this week, reiterated its "Sell" rating on shares of Barnes & Noble (NYSE http://www.benzinga.com/markets/analyst-research/analyst-color/41996/goldman-does-not-like-barnes-noble : BKS http://www.benzinga.com/stock/bks ). The move followed the doubling of a stake in the company by private equity American business billionaire Ron Burkle, increasing his holdings in B&N from 8% to 17%.

Burkle founded The Yucaipa Companies, LLC, a Los Angeles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles -based holding company, in 1986, focusing on private http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_equity equity investments. Yucaipa has a history of highly successful leveraged http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leveraged_buyout buyout investments.

Goldman believes that this purchase does not change the fundamental weakness of BKS's business, specifically "the impact of digital distribution of written content on a high-overhead retail model," according to the stock information site, Benzinga.com http://www.benzinga.com/markets/analyst-research/analyst-color/41996/goldman-does-not-like-barnes-noble .

Goldman's 12-month price target on BKS shares is maintained at $18.

A Sell rating is a dealer's advice to holders of a particular company's shares to sell them.