Pearson, the British publisher and education company, announced on Friday that it was investing $89.5 million in Barnes & Noble‘s digital Nook business for a 5 percent stake.
The investment follows a $300 million investment in the e-reader by Microsoft in April.
Will Ethridge, the chief executive of Pearson North America, said in a statement: “Pearson and Barnes & Noble have been valued partners for decades, and in recent years both have invested heavily and imaginatively to provide engaging and eff ective digital reading and learning experiences. This new agreement extends our partnership and deepens our commitment to provide better, easier experiences for our customers.â€
The Nook has been trying to challenge Amazon‘s dominance of the e-book market. The latest investment gives it backing from one of the world's largest education companies, as well as the publisher of The Financial Times newspaper. Shares of Barnes & Noble were up sharply in pre-market trading.
After the Pearson investment, the bookseller Barnes & Noble will own 78.2 percent of the Nook unit and Microsoft will own 16.8 percent. Pearson will also be granted warrants to buy an addition 5 percent of Nook at a pre-investment valuation of $1.79 billion.
