Barnes & Noble is owned by the private investment firm Elliott Investment Management (sometimes referred to as Elliott Advisors/Elliott Investment Management), which took the company private in 2019 and has owned it since then.

Who owns Barnes & Noble now?

  • Barnes & Noble is a privately held company whose owner is Elliott Investment Management, a major hedge fund and investment firm.
  • The bookseller operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Elliott, meaning its shares are no longer publicly traded.

Who runs the company day to day?

  • The current CEO is James Daunt, a long‑time bookseller who also leads the UK chain Waterstones.
  • Daunt was brought in by Elliott after the 2019 acquisition to turn the chain around and has focused on giving stores more local, indie-style control.

Quick recent context

  • Elliott’s ownership has coincided with a significant expansion: Barnes & Noble has been opening dozens of new stores again across the U.S. after years of contraction.
  • In 2024–2025, the company also made moves like acquiring Denver’s Tattered Cover out of bankruptcy, signaling an aggressive growth and consolidation strategy in physical bookselling.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.