Barnes & Noble news concerning a buyout of the company has BKS stock up on Friday.

Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) says that it is being bought out by a fund advised by Elliott Advisors Limited. This is the same fund that bought out Waterstones in 2018. Waterstones is the largest book retailer in the U.K.

The Barnes & Noble news includes an offering price of $6.50 per share for BKS stock. This offer represents a 43% premium to the 10-day volume weighted average closing share price of BKS stock ended June 5, 2019. This was the last day before media started reporting rumors of the deal.

The Barnes & Noble news release for the deal says that it reaches a total value of $683 million. This includes taking into account for all of the debt held by the company. It also notes that this transaction will be completely funded with cash.

The Barnes & Noble news also means that the company will be getting a new CEO. James Daunt, CEO of Waterstones, will be taking over as the CEO of BKS once the deal is complete. He will work out of New York.

The deal between Barnes & Noble and Elliott Advisors Limited has the full support of BKS’ Board of Directors. The Board is also recommending holders of BKS stock to vote in favor of the deal.

Barnes & Noble and Elliott Advisors Limited are expecting the deal to close during the third quarter of 2019. However, it will first need to complete customary closing conditions. Regulators and shareholders will also need to approve the deal.

BKS stock was up 11% as of Friday morning.

As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.