Editing GameStop (section)

===Barnes & Noble Booksellers (1999–2004)===
In October 1999, [[Barnes & Noble Booksellers]] purchased Babbage's Etc. for $215 million.<ref name="reuters99">{{cite news |date=October 7, 1999 |title=COMPANY NEWS; BOOKSELLER TO BUY BABBAGE'S ETC. FOR $215 MILLION |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |agency=[[Bloomberg News]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/07/business/company-news-bookseller-to-buy-babbage-s-etc-for-215-million.html |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Because Babbage's Etc. was principally owned by Leonard Riggio, who was also Barnes & Noble's chairman and principal shareholder, a special committee of independent directors of Barnes & Noble Booksellers evaluated and signed off on the deal.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB939241765778349890 | title=Barnes & Noble Agrees to Purchase Babbage's Chain Owned by Its Chief | first=Rebecca | last=Quick | author-link=Rebecca Quick | work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] | date=October 7, 1999 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> A few months later, in May 2000, Barnes & Noble acquired Funco, the owner of [[Eden Prairie, Minnesota]]–based video game retailer [[FuncoLand]], for $160 million.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB957735434198602641 | title=Barnes & Noble Makes Another Play in Video Games — Funco Purchase Wagers That Future Growth Action Will Be in That Industry | first=Rebecca | last=Quick | author-link=Rebecca Quick | work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] | date=May 8, 2000 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> Babbage's Etc., which had been previously operating as a direct subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, became a wholly owned subsidiary of Funco.<ref name="2002-10K"/> With its acquisition of Funco,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/08/why-some-of-us-will-miss-gamestop-when-its-gone/ |title=Why the gaming world will be worse once GameStop is gone | date=August 2, 2019 | first=KYLE | last=ORLAND |archive-date=January 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127231101/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/08/why-some-of-us-will-miss-gamestop-when-its-gone/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Barnes & Noble also acquired [[Game Informer]], a video game magazine that was first published in 1991.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-07/gamestop-magazine-s-growth-vaults-it-past-better-homes-gardens.html |title=GameStop Magazine Growth Vaults It Past Better Homes & Gardens| first=Kelly | last=Blessing |date=August 7, 2012 | work=[[Bloomberg News]] |archive-date=September 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910195735/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-07/gamestop-magazine-s-growth-vaults-it-past-better-homes-gardens.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Funco was renamed GameStop, Inc. in December 2000 in anticipation of holding an [[initial public offering]] for the company.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{cite web | url=https://news.gamestop.com/static-files/51379f08-3434-4726-bccb-9e771cb59aea | title=GameStop Corp. Form S-4 Annual Report | publisher=[[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] | date=April 26, 2006}}</ref>

In February 2002, the company once again became a [[public company]] via an [[initial public offering]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://money.cnn.com/2002/02/13/ipo/gamestop/ | title=GameStop IPO up 12% | work=[[CNN]] | date=February 13, 2002}}</ref> Barnes & Noble retained control over the newly public company with 67% of outstanding shares and 95% of voting shares. Barnes & Noble retained control over GameStop until October 2004, when it distributed its 59% stake in GameStop to stakeholders of Barnes & Noble, making it an independent company.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2004-10-05 |title=Barnes & Noble Pares GameStop |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB109690743684435414 |access-date=2025-05-23 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}</ref>