November 06, 1998 Official ABA Media Statement The American Booksellers Association (ABA) considers the purchase of Ingram Book Company by Barnes & Noble, Inc., to be a devastating development that threatens the viability of competition in the book industry, and limits the diversity and availability of books to consumers. The Board of Directors of the ABA call on the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the proposed acquisition and to take prompt and decisive action to stop this blatantly anti-competitive combination. This acquisition, should it be allowed to take place, is just one more example of the large scale corporate consolidation that has infiltrated every corner of our culture. As the desire intensifies to increase bottom line profits no matter what the other consequences, so does the concentration of power in the book industry. Consumers are left with an environment in which fewer and fewer people are deciding which books get published, and ultimately, which books Americans can read and buy. Barnes & Noble, a $3 billion company and the largest US book retailer, recently entered into an alliance with the $14 billion media giant, German-owned Bertelsmann AG. Ingram Book Company is the largest book wholesaler in the United States, with over a billion dollars in sales to independent bookstores and other competitors of Barnes & Noble. Now, with Barnes & Noble�s proposed acquisition of the billion dollar Ingram Book Company, there can be little doubt that the book industry is falling prey to the same anti-competitive ills that currently plague the computer software and other industries. This deal would make independent bookstores virtually dependent upon their largest competitor, one which the ABA alleges in pending antitrust discrimination litigation in San Francisco has had a longstanding, systematic strategy of driving independents out of business to stifle competition. While there are some smaller, unaffiliated book wholesalers that provide independent booksellers with excellent service, Ingram Book Company is a primary distribution source for the vast majority of ABA member stores, and we consider this development to be deeply troubling. We will use all of our strength and available resources to fight it. Topics: B&N/Ingram,