The Nook has been a constant also-ran compared to offerings by Amazon, Google and Apple.
(USA Today) -- Barnes & Noble, the struggling bookseller, saw its shares jump 8% Wednesday after saying it will spin off its Nook digital book business.
The Nook business, which produced digital readers that were a constant also-ran versus offerings from Amazon, Google and Apple, required heavy investments from the company that it was ill-prepared to afford. Shares are up $2.13, or 10%, to $22.69 on the news.
The unit, to be spun off into a new publicly traded company called Nook Media, is 17% owned by Microsoft and 5% owned by publisher Pearson. The company plans to create a tablet in partnership with Samsung.
The new business is expected to be pulled out of Barnes & Noble by March 2015.
