Leonard Riggio, Barnes and Nobles Chairman, is credited with taking the company form obscurity into the countries largest bookstore franchise.
At the Barnes and Nobles annual meeting on Tuesday, shareholders voted on whether or not Riggio would keep his seat on the Barnes and Nobles board. Preliminary counting in Manhattan showed that Riggio is safe, for now, with 44 percent of the vote. His closest competitor for a seat on the board, Ron Burkle, who is also the company’s second largest stakeholder, narrowly missed out with 38 percent.
While many in the packed Asia Society hall applauded Riggio’s win, others in the auditorium were more concerned that the company had put itself up for sale, claiming that at this point, with Barnes and Nobles on the market, who was on the board was of little consequence.
Barnes and Nobles CEO William Lynch said that since the August announcement of the sale “We've had a lot of interest thus far and we're just beginning that process, but in terms of how this proxy contest influences the sale of the company, it really doesn't. It delayed it if anything.”
While members of the audience were no doubt thinking about the sale, Lynch made no mention of it at the meeting, instead focusing on his optimistic view of the digital business that Barnes and Nobles have invested in. Lynch said he expected that digital media would generate up to 30 percent of the company’s income by 2014.
Barnes and Nobles stock prices rose by .04 cents after the meeting.
