Would Borders Merge With B&N?

What are we to make of the fact that the Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund revealed in a recent SEC filing that it owns shares in both Borders and Barnes & Noble? David Polonitza of SeekingAlpha focuses on Pershing’s track record for shareholder activism to speculate (very wildly) on the possibilities of a merger between “the number #1 and #2 big box book stores in the country.” He explains the logic behind the hypothetical move: “There would be considerable cost savings in merging the two companies with respect to distribution, management, along with the increased purchasing power. Each company’s online presence is still not competitive and they might fare better combined…a much stronger competitor to the likes of Amazon than they are apart.”

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