Chief executive James Daunt, who has guided the retailer back to profit and will remain in post, hails the deal as testament to ‘old-fashioned bookselling’Britain’s largest book chain, Waterstones, has been acquired for an undisclosed sum by the hedge fund Elliott Advisors. Mamut’s firm, Lynwood Investments, which has owned Waterstones since 2011, will retain a minority stake in the business. “As the leading physical book retailer in the UK, Waterstones is a mainstay of UK high streets and has a huge and loyal customer base,” said Best. When Mamut acquired Waterstones from HMV in 2011, for £53m, the chain had not made an annual profit since 2008. He brought in Daunt, the founder of the independent London book chain Daunt Books, to run the company.

Source: The Guardian April 26, 2018 09:13 UTC