In the latest move at Barnes & Noble in advance of the national book retailer’s September 28 annual meeting, David G. Golden and Dr. David A. Wilson have been nominated to stand for election to B&N’s board of directors. The two will replace Michael Del Guidice and Lawrence Zilavy, who have decided not to stand for reelection. Golden is executive v-p and partner at Revolution LLC, an investment company and Wilson is president and CEO of the Graduate Management Admission Council, a nonprofit education association.
The move comes as B&N founder and chairman Leonard Riggio gears up for a proxy battle against financier Ron Burkle, who has sued the B&N board over a poison pill provision it passed after Burkle acquired a significant share of B&N stock. On August 18 Riggio exercised options to purchase nearly a million shares of B&N stock for $16.8 Million, or $16.96 a share, about $1.61 more than the previous closing price of B&N stock. Burkle has charged that B&N’s stock price is undervalued and the nominations of Golden and Wilson also appear to address charges by Burkle that the B&N board is too close to Riggio.
In announcing the nominations, William Dillard II, chairperson of the board’s corporate governance and nominating committee, said, “we are pleased to nominate two highly qualified, independent nominees, whose experience is ideally suited for our board at this critical juncture.”
