Barnes & Noble founder Leonard Riggio wants to buy the company's remaining bookstores and website. The disclosure came in a regulatory filing Monday.
Sound familiar?
Riggio joins Best Buy founder Richard Schulze and Dell computer founder Michael Dell in the fraternity of founders trying to rekindle the companies they built. Dell is taking his namesake company private after a $24.4 billion deal this month, while Schulze is still working out details of a potential bid for Best Buy's shares.
Riggio is not seeking ownership of the Nook e-reader business or the college bookstores operated by Barnes & Noble.
Monday's filing with the SEC said Riggio will seek to negotiate a price with the company's board and finance the deal with cash and debt. Barnes & Noble shares rose $1.18, or 8.8 percent, to $14.69, on news of Riggio's filing.
Barnes & Noble currently has 689 bookstores in 50 states.
