Permira Advisers has given up its effort to buy HMV Group after the
takeover target rejected the private equity firm's second bid last
week. According to Bloomberg,
HMV said that it will now focus on "revamping its store layouts,
Internet site and integrating Ottakar's" into HMV's Waterstone's
division if the U.K.'s competition commission allows its purchase of
the Ottakar's chain.
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Speaking of private equity firms, Michaels Stores, the arts-and-crafts retailer with 1,066 stores that sell a significant amount of related books, is exploring "strategic alternatives," according to yesterday's Wall Street Journal. Currently retail is a juicy target for cash-laden leveraged buyout firms, and Michaels may be all the more enticing because it has no debt. Wall Street showed an interest: yesterday Michaels stock closed at $38.35, up 13%.
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The Minnesota Daily, the student paper of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, profiles the strong ties between the school and the Amazon Bookstore Cooperative, the 36-year-old feminist bookstore. For example, "During the first two weeks of every semester, members of the cooperative set up shop in the University Technology Enterprise Center . . . as a way to connect with a broader audience that normally wouldn't make it to the store. It's also a way to offer students enrolled in specific courses the books they need that aren't available at traditional bookstores.
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In the Hollywood Economist column in Slate, Edward Jay Epstein details Wal-Mart's plans to set up in-store kiosks to burn movie DVDs in its stores (and pay a licensing fee to studios that may be $3-$4).
"The advantage to the customer would be that he could choose a title from among the tens of thousands of movies in the studios' libraries, and also possibly have it in the language and rated-version (G, PG, R, or NC-17) he prefers, while the studios would save the cost of manufacturing, packaging warehousing, and returns."
Are books far behind?
Thanks to Allan Lang for the tip!
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Speaking of private equity firms, Michaels Stores, the arts-and-crafts retailer with 1,066 stores that sell a significant amount of related books, is exploring "strategic alternatives," according to yesterday's Wall Street Journal. Currently retail is a juicy target for cash-laden leveraged buyout firms, and Michaels may be all the more enticing because it has no debt. Wall Street showed an interest: yesterday Michaels stock closed at $38.35, up 13%.
---
The Minnesota Daily, the student paper of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, profiles the strong ties between the school and the Amazon Bookstore Cooperative, the 36-year-old feminist bookstore. For example, "During the first two weeks of every semester, members of the cooperative set up shop in the University Technology Enterprise Center . . . as a way to connect with a broader audience that normally wouldn't make it to the store. It's also a way to offer students enrolled in specific courses the books they need that aren't available at traditional bookstores.
---
In the Hollywood Economist column in Slate, Edward Jay Epstein details Wal-Mart's plans to set up in-store kiosks to burn movie DVDs in its stores (and pay a licensing fee to studios that may be $3-$4).
"The advantage to the customer would be that he could choose a title from among the tens of thousands of movies in the studios' libraries, and also possibly have it in the language and rated-version (G, PG, R, or NC-17) he prefers, while the studios would save the cost of manufacturing, packaging warehousing, and returns."
Are books far behind?
Thanks to Allan Lang for the tip!