(Reuters) – Britain’s third largest supermarket group J Sainsbury has entered the e-book and social network market with the purchase of HMV Group’s shareholding in Anobii for a nominal 1 pound ($1.55).
Sainsbury said on Tuesday the acquisition and its investment in the future development of the business would result in it having a 64 percent stake in Anobii, which currently has over 600,000 users worldwide and a library of 60,000 e-books.
Anobii’s other shareholders are publishers HarperCollins, Penguin and Random House.
Sainsbury said the deal supports its drive into the growing online and digital entertainment market.
It follows the launch of Sainsbury’s Entertainment in November 2010, the acquisition of online entertainment company Global Media Vault in October 2011 and the launch of a music download service earlier this year.
Sainsbury will update on first quarter trading on Wednesday. ($1 = 0.6447 British pounds)
