Barnesandnoble.com’s Shares Off 14%

Barnesandnoble.com Inc.’s shares fell as much as 16% on Tuesday on news that regulators may oppose Barnes & Noble Inc.’s purchase of wholesaler Ingram Book Group, which was intended to help the bookseller’s Internet business compete with Amazon.com Inc., analysts said.

The shares fell $3.06, or 14%, to close at $20, on Nasdaq. Stock in Barnes & Noble, the largest U.S. bookseller, fell $1.19 to close at $27.38 on the New York Stock Exchange. Barnes & Noble owns 41% of New York-based Barnesandnoble.com, and German media company Bertelsmann owns 41%.

Federal Trade Commission lawyers will recommend that the agency oppose the $600-million acquisition of closely held Ingram, the largest U.S. book wholesaler, people familiar with the FTC investigation said Monday. Ingram would give Barnes & Noble 11 distribution centers that could let it deliver books to online customers more quickly and for less money.

The FTC is scheduled to meet today. “We are not going to comment on speculation,” Barnes & Noble spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating said. Ingram spokeswoman Shannon Hunt said the company remains confident that the transaction will be approved. The FTC’s spokeswoman declined to comment.