PaidContent reports that J. Sainsbury, the third-largest supermarket chain in the U.K., has purchased a 64% stake in aNobii, a social
discovery web engine for books whose other owners are
HarperCollins,
Penguin and
Random House. Of the 64%, 45.4% came from
HMV, which
disposed of its ownership in
aNobii after selling off
Waterstones. The
former owners who sold their shares of aNobii didn't value it very
highly--Sainsbury's only paid £1 for its stake.
aNobii may help Sainsbury's in competition with
Tesco, the biggest
supermarket chain in the U.K., which has launched an
eBooks store and acquired 80% of
Blinkbox
in order to get into on-demand movies. Both Sainsbury's and Tesco offer
digital music downloads.
