Pearson announced it would invest $89.5 million in Nook Media just three days after Christmas,
joining Microsoft as a partner with the Barnes & Noble subsidiary. It was a
move aimed at delivering the publisher’s digital content to college students.
“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,” Pearson North America CEO Will Ethridge said in the release announcing
the deal. “It’s another example of our strategy of making our content and
services broadly available to students and faculty through a wide range of
distribution partners.”
Pearson is banking that pairing with the Nook Media
expertise in online distribution and customer service will make it easier for
customers to find and access its digital learning material. However, the purchase
also comes on the heels of news that holiday sales at B&N were weak and
that the Nook segment would continue to be lower than expected.
