Borders Looking to Acquire Rival Barnes & Noble to Capture E-Book Market

In a push to gain ground in the digital book market, highlighted by digital books and e-readers, bookseller Borders may be acquiring its larger rival Barnes & Noble for $16 per share or a mixture of cash and stock according to the company’s filing with the SEC. The deal seems preliminary, and Borders is cautioning that there is “no assurance” that the buyout will go through. The buyout will give Borders greater leverage in the digital books market as the two booksellers have competing digital storefronts and readers. Barnes & Noble has its Nook ecosystem, which relies on the company’s digital e-books store, while Border is relying on Kobo for its push into the digital space. Additionally, Barnes & Noble has greater recognition in the space, claiming what it reports as 20 percent market share, making it among the top digital books seller with Amazon’s Kindle, Apple’s iPad, and Sony’s Reader.