Barnes & Noble Buyout: Bookstore Giant Chairman Leonard Riggio Considering Buying Out Company's Retail Stores, Future of Nook Tablet Up in the Air

Remember when we lived in a world where people read those things called books? In another sign that society is quickly moving past books as we know them, Barnes & Noble's chairman Leonard Riggio told the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday that he wants to buyout the company's retail stores and Barnesandnoble.com.

The deal could be an attempt to spin off the company's e-book and tablet business, NOOK Media. This; however, may not be the wisest move after the book store had a relatively strong showing in 2012, while its Nook business was relatively disappointing through the holiday season. Riggio is the company's largest shareholder with nearly a 30% stake in the company.

The store's holiday's were difficult as sales at its retail stores fell 11% and Nook sales fell 12.6% to about 300 million. The company has already warned that its Nook sales for the past year may be a letdown for investors as they make an announcement on Thursday.

It's almost impossible to say how technology will ultimately effect the outlook of Barnes & Noble and other book businesses. Even if businesses were able to predict the future of technology, they still have to create products that are consumer friendly.

In April, Barnes & Noble sold a 17.6% stake in the company's Nook business to Microsoft, which is coming out with its own app store and Microsoft 8 operating system. Then in late 2012, media company Pearson, bought a 5% stake in the Nook business.

Where does this leave Barnes & Noble bookstores? Well the filing says, "Mr. Riggio plans to make the proposal in order to facilitate the Company's evaluation of its previously announced review of strategic options for the separation of its investment in NOOK Media LLC."

Fellow bookstore giant Borders filed for bankruptcy two years ago and went out of business in July of 2011. Online companies such as Amazon.com, which has its Kindle e-book have severely hurt Barnes & Noble.

If Barnes & Noble can't find success in the the e-book industry or some other digital venture, they may find themselves in even bigger trouble soon. Books as we know them, may be a thing of the past before long.