British publishing and education company Pearson has agreed to acquire 5% stake in Nook Media, a subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, for $89.5m.
Upon completion of the transaction, Barnes & Noble will now own about 78.2% of the Nook Media, while Microsoft, which also holds preferred membership interests, will own around 16.8%.
The transaction will enable Nook to improve the discovery of available digital content and services.
The investment by Pearson values Nook Media at $1.789bn, and earlier this year, Microsoft had invested $300m in Barnes & Noble’s subsidiary.
Nook Media business consists of the digital and college businesses of Barnes & Noble which operates 667 college bookstores throughout the US.
Nook digital business provides Nook products and a collection of digital reading and entertainment content through the Nook Store.
Pearson North America chief executive officer Will Ethridge said: "With this investment we have entered into a commercial agreement with NOOK Media that will allow our two companies to work closely together in order to create a more seamless and effective experience for students."
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