poison pill

Liberty Media, the conglomerate controlled by John Malone, made a $1 billion bid Thursday to buy Barnes & Noble. The bricks-and-mortar bookstore business is declining everywhere, so for Malone's gamble is to pay off, the Nook will have to gain some ground against Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle.

Back in September, billionaire Ron Burkle lost his proxy war with Barnes & Noble's board, failing to kill the poison pill that kept him from upping his stake in the company. That made Wednesday's shareholders meeting all but a formality. But what's next for the nation's largest bookseller?

With less than two weeks to go in the bitter proxy contest between Barnes & Noble founder Leonard Riggio and billionaire Ron Burkle, one key analyst has changed his outlook on the company's stock for the worse and a leading proxy advisory firm has sided with the Riggio camp.

Internet auction giant eBay won't have to swallow Craigslist's poison pill after all, a Delaware Chancery Court ruled on Thursday. The online classified ads giant illegally diluted eBay's equity stake in the company after eBay decided to enter the classified ad market itself.

Lions Gate Entertainment shares jumped some 12.5% to around $7.30 Tuesday after billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn raised his hostile bid for the studio to $7.50 per share in cash, up from the previous offer of $6.50 a share. Lions Gate's board said it will review the offer.

Barnes & Noble's board has sent a letter to shareholders urging them to vote to rebuff investor Ron Burkle's battle to control the bookseller. The letter is part of annual-meeting materials B&N mailed to shareholders, formally launching its proxy battle.

After losing in court, renegade investor Ron Burkle is poised to launch a proxy contest for Barnes & Noble that will be tinged by animosity between Burkle and B&N founder and chairman Leonard Riggio.

The fight between Barnes & Noble and its second-largest shareholder, Ron Burkle, appears to be over. A deal has apparently been reached that would give Burkle three board seats in exchange for dropping his suit.

The ongoing battle between Barnes & Noble and its second-largest shareholder, Ron Burkle, has recently escalated. Things have gotten so bad that both sides have now landed in the courtroom.

Billionaire Ron Burkle is taking his battle with Barnes & Noble's board of directors to court. The Yucaipa Cos. founder is suing the bookseller in an attempt to derail the "poison pill" measure it adopted last year to prevent him from completing a hostile takeover.