Pearson acquires stake in Nook Media

Pearson, the world's leading learning company, announced Friday it had purchased a stake in Nook Media, a subsidiary of Barnes & Noble and Microsoft.

The FTSE 100 company will invest $89.5m cash, a 5% interest, in Nook Media which sells e-readers, tablets and digital books in the US.

Barnes & Noble holds 78.2% of the business while Microsoft owns 16.8%.

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Pearson will have the option to purchase a further 5%, subject to certain conditions.

The company said the investment would improve its customers' access to online learning content including 674 college bookstores in America.

Will Ethridge, Chief Executive of Pearson North America, said: "Pearson and Barnes & Noble have been valued partners for decades, and in recent years both have invested heavily and imaginatively to provide engaging and effective digital reading and learning experiences. This new agreement extends our partnership and deepens our commitment to provide better, easier experiences for our customers.

"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. It is another example of our strategy of making our content and services broadly available to students and faculty through a wide range of distribution partners."

Shares were down 0.17% to 1,195.00p at 14:13 Friday.

RD