Sometime in 2008, billionaire investor Ron Burkle set his sights on Barnes & Noble. He knew the company’s founder and chairman, Leonard Riggio, and he shared his plans to invest in B&N with Riggio, who tried to dissuade him. Riggio preferred not to have other large holders in the company he built; furthermore, a previous venture with Burkle hadn’t gone well.
But Burkle’s hedge funds, Yucaipa American Alliance Fund II and its parallel fund, invested anyway. Burkle was disappointed in how the company was being run and let the board know it. At the same time, Yucaipa began increasing its stake in the company.
