What Nook could buy Microsoft
Microsoft has bid $1 billion to buy the digital assets of Nook Media, the e-book business led by Barnes & Noble, according to a report published late Wednesday.The news sparked immediate enthusiasm on Wall Street, where the bookseller's stock price was up 18% as of early Thursday afternoon. But, despite the excitement, an all-important question remains: If Microsoft goes on to consummate the rumored deal, what will it get out of the acquisition?TechCrunch broke the news, claiming it had acquired internal documents that revealed not only Microsoft's offer, but also plans to phase out Nook's Android-based tablets by the end of 2014. An anonymous source told The New York Times that the documents are authentic and only a few weeks old. According to the Times, which noted that Nook was valued at $1.8 billion as recently as December, it is not yet clear if a deal will be closed. Microsoft has so far declined to comment, but the Times source claimed any announcements are at least weeks away.
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