British education and media publisher Pearson said it will buy a 5 per cent stake in Barnes & Noble’s digital Nook and college bookstore businesses for $89.5 million.

Barnes & Noble, whose shares rose as much as 6 per cent to $15.19 on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday morning, said the Nook division will not meet prior expectations for its current year.

The top US bookstore chain’s Nook Media unit comprises its digital businesses – including Nook e-reader and tablets and the Nook digital bookstore – and 674 college bookstores across America.

Barnes & Noble said in November that quarterly loss at the Nook division increased on raised spending on its e-readers and tablets to keep pace with larger rivals Amazon.comand Apple. – (Reuters)