Earlier this morning, Microsoft made the surprise announcement it was teaming up with bookseller Barnes & Noble to help them spin off their Nook tablet and eReader business. The deal will include a $300 million investment from Microsoft which will allow it to own 17.6 percent of this new company, which is being referred to by its code name NewCo.
Now Barnes & Noble has revealed more information about this new Microsoft partnership in a new regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing states:
As part of the Commercial Agreement, NewCo and Microsoft would share in the revenues, net of certain items, from digital content purchased from NewCo by customers using the NewCo Windows 8 applications or through certain Microsoft products and services that may be developed in the future and are designed to interact with the NewCo online bookstore.
The phrase "certain Microsoft products and services that may be developed in the future" could be a big hint that a Windows 8 version of the Nook tablet could be at least in the planning stages at Microsoft at Barnes & Noble.
This new filing would also suggest that Microsoft is actually spending even more than $300 million on this deal as it lists two more separate funding agreements.
The filing states that Microsoft will be making $60 million in payments each year for the next three years to NewCo once the company"s Windows 8 application is launched. There will also be additional payments from Microsoft of $25 million a year for five years.
This money will help NewCo "...in acquiring local digital reading content and technology development." NewCo will also ".... develop certain applications for Windows 8 for purchasing and consumption of digital reading content ... " along with " ... an international expansion of the Digital Business."