Barnes & Noble reviewing offers to sell company

NEW YORK – The board of Barnes and Noble says it is reviewing the company’s future after several parties expressed interest in buying it.

The company said Wednesday that its board appointed a special committee to review the offers.

One of the interested parties is its founder and chairman, Leonard Riggio, who is credited with turning Barnes & Noble into a superstore.

The bookseller has long been struggling with increasing competition from Amazon and has been reducing staff over the last year.

According to FactSet, Riggio owns 19 per cent of the company and is its largest shareholder. He says he will vote in favour of any transaction recommended by the committee.

The New York-based company also says it’s adopting a shareholder rights plan after noticing an unidentified party rapidly accumulating its stock.