Barnes & Noble is selling a stake in its Nook e-reader business to Microsoft. The US books retailers announced earlier this year that it was looking at strategic options to spin off its digital business. Under the agreement, Microsoft will pay USD 300 million to buy a 17.6 percent stake in a new company set up to control the Nook e-reader, digital books and college software businesses. The agreement values the Newco at USD 1.7 billion. Barnes & Noble will own 82.4 percent of the new subsidiary, which will have an ongoing relationship with the company's retail stores. The company has not yet decided on the name of Newco. As part of the deal, the companies will develop a Nook application for Windows 8, helping extend the reach of the digital books service. The agreement also ends the patent dispute between Microsoft and Barnes & Noble, with the latter and Newco granted a licence to Microsoft technology, on which they will pay royalties. B&N said it was not decided yet if the new company would eventually be spun off or become a standalone public company.
