As Barnes & Noble and Bertelsmann continue to buy more shares of Barnes & Noble.com, B&N filed a 13-D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing that the two companies had agreed to coordinate their share purchases in order to comply with SEC provisions that prevent parties from manipulating the stock. B&N chief financial officer Larry Zilavy said the filing "lets other shareholders know what the majority shareholders are doing." Both B&N and Bertelsmann own about 36% each of B&N.com.
Since it began acquiring shares in the e-tailer on October 1, B&N has bought 763,000 shares for approximately $700,000. Bertelsmann made its first purchases of B&N.com stock on October 30 and 31, when it bought a total of 70,000 shares for about $82,000. The company added another 69,000 shares on November 1 and 4, at a cost of about $89,000.
In a separate filing with the SEC, B&N.com disclosed that it has granted CEO Marie Toulantis options on 500,000 shares at a price of $1.15 per share. Toulantis can cash in a portion of the options next October.
