After pulling the public offering of its GameStop video game subsidiary because of a weak stock market late last year, Barnes & Noble will go ahead with the spinoff later this winter. According to a filing with the SEC, GameStop plans to issue slightly more than 18 million shares in a price range of $17 to $19 in an effort to raise about $325 million. The company will use $250 million of the proceeds to repay a note owed to B&N; remaining funds will go for working capital and general corporate purposes. The company plans to open 150 to 200 new stores this year. After the offering, B&N will remain the majority shareholder in the retailer.

GameStop is projecting sales for the year ended February 2 to be $1.12 billion, compared to $756.7 million in fiscal 2001.