Waterstone in bid to buy back bookshop chain
Tim Waterstone is in talks to buy back the bookshop chain he founded nearly 20 years ago.
The entrepreneur founded Waterstones in 1982 and built it into a chain of around 80 shops before selling it to WH Smith which in turn sold it to HMV Media.
A spokesman for Mr Waterstone says he has been interested in buying back the chain for around a year.
Mr Waterstone has been in talks with PPM Ventures, the private equity arm of Prudential, regarding funding a deal.
He has also been in discussions with HMV's bankers, Warburg for several months.
However, the spokesman says the £200m figure mentioned is speculation.
PPM Ventures and Warburg have not been available for comment.
Mr Waterstone, who continued his ties with the bookshop chain after selling it, was until recently non-executive chairman of HMV Media, before stepping down when the prospect of making a bid became realistic.
The entrepreneur, who has an investment in HMV, is understood to have been unhappy with a number of ways the book chain has been run.
The comments follow months of speculation about the future of Waterstone's, which has suffered tough trading conditions over the past year, but recently reported an improved Christmas trading period.
Alan Giles, chief executive of HMV Media was reported in January as saying that Waterstone's was a good business and the firm saw no reason to sell it.
