B&N to Spin Off Nook Into Separate Business

Barnes & Noble on Wednesday announced that its board has authorized the breakup of its retail and Nook Media businesses into two separate public companies with "the objective of optimizing shareholder value."

The move isn't entirely surprising, since Barnes & Noble has been considering this for more than two years. Former CEO William Lynch back in early 2012 announced that Barnes & Noble was looking to separate the Nook business from the rest of the company.

In its latest quarterly results, Barnes & Noble said Nook revenue dropped 22 percent to $87.1 million while sales its physical stores and college division both rose.

"We believe we are now in a better position to begin in earnest those steps necessary to accomplish a separation of Nook Media and Barnes & Noble Retail," CEO Michael Huseby said in the statement. "We have determined that these businesses will have the best chance of optimizing shareholder value if they are capitalized and operated separately. We fully expect that our Retail and Nook Media businesses will continue to have long-term, successful business relationships with each other after separation."

The company said it plans to complete the separation by the end of the first quarter of 2015.

In April 2012, Barnes & Noble and Microsoft announced a strategic partnership whereby the software giant invested $300 million in the retailer's Nook business for a 17.6 percent stake. That deal closed several months later, and the duo announced that their newly formed venture would be known as Nook Media, which includes Barnes & Noble's digital and college businesses.

By March 2014, however, Microsoft and Barnes & Noble tweaked their partnership to allow the Nook maker to ditch work on e-reading apps for Windows in favor of something called the Microsoft Consumer Reader.

Microsoft is not Barnes & Noble's only partner. Recently, it teamed up with Samsung to launch co-branded tablets, dubbed the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook. The devices will go on sale in the U.S. in early August at Barnes & Noble stores and online.

Last year, B&N also added Google Play to the Nook HD and HD+ tablets.

For more, see PCMag's full review of the Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight and our roundup of the 13 Best Nook Tablet Apps.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade.

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes.

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app.

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth.

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light.

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

Read the latest from Angela Moscaritolo

Read full bio