Waterstone’s sold to Mamut fund for £53 million

British book retail chain, Waterstone’s, has been sold by HMV Group to A&NN Capital Fund Management, controlled by Russian magnate Alexander Mamut, for £53 million.

The announcement comes after the HMV Group put Waterstone’s up for sale in March amidst concerns about its debt situation.Simon Fox, the chief executive of HMV Group said the sale would enable HMV Group to refocus."We expect this deal to enable the group to achieve a reduction in the group's borrowing requirements, and, in turn, focus on plans for transforming the HMV Group into a broad-based entertainment business,"Mamut, who is also a 6.7% stakeholder in HMV Group and also owns the LiveJournal social networking site has purchased Waterstone’s for cash,  with a payment of £40 million when  the deal is expected to be completed in June, and a further £13 million in October.In a statement released to the media, Alexander Mamut said he was pleased to take ownership of the book chain, and was looking to develop it further.“We are extremely pleased to have reached an agreement to acquire Waterstone’s and its great heritage. I believe that our investment and strategy will secure a dynamic future for the UK’s largest bookshop chain and I look forward to working with its booksellers in building on the principle of excellent bookselling which is at the very heart of the business.”