Barnes & Noble‘s chairman, Leonard Riggio, disclosed in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that he has dropped efforts to buy the company’s bookstores.
The move raises further questions about the bookseller’s future amid its previously announced plans to stop making its Nook line of tablets.
Mr. Riggio first announced his plans to bid for the company’s 675 physical stores in February, in a move that would have essentially split the company in half. It was unclear how much he was willing to pay, but the board had at one point been unwilling to consider anything significantly short of $1 billion.
Since the emergence of Mr. Riggio’s efforts, however, Barnes & Noble has found itself under more pressure. Beyond the end of its Nook tablet business, the company has grappled with a number of disappointing earnings reports and the departure of its chief executive, William Lynch.
“While I reserve the right to pursue an offer in the future, I believe it is in the company’s best interests to focus on the business at hand,†Mr. Riggio said in a statement.
