It was a close one: Barnes & Noble founder Len Riggio squeaked out ahead of billionaire investor Ron Burkle in the battle for the bookstore chain’s future today, earning 44 percent of the shareholder vote to maintain control of the company’s board. Burkle, who pitched himself and two others to sit on the nine-member board, seems to have lost with only 38 percent of the shareholder vote. “For what it’s worth, it hasn’t been an easy four to five months,” Riggio told a crowd at the Asia Society today. Burkle hasn’t made it easy for him.
For the full backstory of the battle for Barnes & Noble’s future, check out Andrew Rice’s New York feature from this August.
