Barnes & Noble buyout
Riggio, who disclosed his plans in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, did not name a price. Shares jumped 8% in early trading.
Riggio is already the largest shareholder of Barnes & Noble (BKS, Fortune 500), with nearly a 30% stake in the company.
The company had already been considering spinning off the Nook business as a separate company.
Last April, it announced a deal with Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) in which Microsoft bought a 17.6% stake in Nook. Publisher Pearson (PSO) bought a 5% stake in Nook in December.
Those deals both value the overall Nook business at more than $1.7 billion, even though Barnes & Noble stock is worth just less than $800 million.
In early January, the company reported a weak Christmas season, with sales at its retail stores falling 11%. Sales at its Nook unit fell 12.6% to just $300 million.
Earlier this month, the company warned of rising losses and disappointing sales for its Nook unit in the past year, results of which are due Thursday.