Barnes & Noble Education™ Announces Investment in Flashnotes, Inc., an Online Marketplace for College Students

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Barnes & Noble Education today announced an investment, through its college business, Barnes & Noble College^™, in Flashnotes, Inc., an online marketplace for college students to sell and buy student-created course-specific study materials. Both companies will also enter into a Strategic Alliance Agreement that will enable Barnes & Noble College to promote Flashnotes.com at partner schools and on digital platforms and create positive change and improve academic outcomes by making students more active participants in their own education.

"One of the key objectives of the planned separation of Barnes & Noble Education, comprising the Barnes & Noble College business, from Barnes & Noble Inc., is to pursue strategic opportunities in the growing educational services markets , and our investment in Flashnotes.com is consistent with that objective," said Max J. Roberts, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble Education.. "Together, Barnes & Noble College and Flashnotes.com can directly impact student success through a mutual partnership that aligns the student learning and studying experience with a built-in support system, while showcasing the campus bookstore as an important student resource."

Flashnotes.com, which was founded in Ohio in 2010, is the student-to-student study materials marketplace. On Flashnotes.com, college students sell and buy student-created course-specific study materials—study guides, notes, flashcards, video tutorials, and live video help.

"This investment from Barnes & Noble Education is a powerful validation of how peer-to-peer learning is influencing the higher education process. We're very excited to be partnering with such an iconic brand that shares our belief in empowering students to help one another," said Mike Matousek, founder of Flashnotes .com.

The partnership with Flashnotes.com represents a unique new way for Barnes & Noble College to reach a growing segment of the higher education industry. According to Barnes & Noble College's proprietary research, more than half of college students are receiving tutoring, but the experience is very fragmented with assistance coming from friends, the college, or other general online resources.

For more information on Barnes & Noble College, visit www.bncollege.com/news. For more information on Flashnotes, visit www.flashnotes.com.

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.

As described in the Registration Statement filed with the SEC on February 26, 2015, Barnes & Noble Education, Inc., through its College business, is one of the largest contract operators of bookstores, operating 714 stores on college and university campuses in the United States. The Company creates and operates campus stores that are focal points for college life and learning, enhancing the educational mission of the institution, enlivening campus culture and delivering an important revenue stream to partner colleges and universities. The Company builds relationships and sales by actively engaging and marketing to over 5 million students, offering its customer base a full assortment of items from its campus stores, including course-related materials, which includes new and used physical textbooks and digital textbooks available for sale or rent, emblematic apparel and gifts, trade books, computer products, school and dorm supplies, convenience and café items and graduation products.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) and information relating to Barnes & Noble Education that are based on the beliefs of the management of Barnes & Noble Education, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the management of Barnes & Noble Education. When used in this communication, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "will," "forecasts," "projections," and similar expressions, as they relate to Barnes & Noble Education or the management of Barnes & Noble Education, identify forward-looking statements.

Such statements reflect the current views of Barnes & Noble with respect to future events, the outcome of which is subject to certain risks, including, among others, general competitive conditions, including actions our competitors may take to grow their businesses; trends and challenges to our business and in the locations in which we have stores; decisions by colleges and universities to outsource their bookstore operations or change the operation of their bookstores; non-renewal of contracts; the general economic environment, college enrollment and consumer spending patterns, including decreases in university spending; decreased consumer demand for our products, low growth or declining sales; disruptions to our computer systems, data lines, telephone systems or supply chain, including the loss of suppliers; changes to payment terms, return policies, the discount or margin on products or other terms with our suppliers; risks associated with data privacy, information security and intellectual property; work stoppages or increases in labor costs; our ability to attract and retain employees; possible increases in shipping rates or interruptions in shipping service, effects of competition; obsolete or excessive inventory; product shortages; our ability to successfully implement our strategic initiatives; the performance of our online, digital and other initiatives, including possible delays in the deployment of, and further enhancements to, Yuzu^TM and any future higher education digital products; technological changes; risk that digital sales growth is less than expectations and the risk that it does not exceed the rate of investment spend; higher-than-anticipated store closings; changes in law or regulation; the amount of our indebtedness and ability to comply with covenants applicable to any future debt financing; our ability to satisfy future capital and liquidity requirements; our ability to access the credit and capital markets at the times and in the amounts needed and on acceptable terms; adverse results from litigation, governmental investigations or tax-related proceedings or audits; changes in accounting standards; the potential adverse impact on our business resulting from the Spin-Off (including with respect to the completion thereof and the timing of such completion); and other factors which may be outside of Barnes & Noble Education's control, including those factors discussed in detail under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 26, 2015).

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results or outcomes may vary materially from those described as anticipated, believed, estimated, expected, intended or planned. Subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Barnes & Noble Education or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements in this paragraph. Barnes & Noble Education undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this communication.

About Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. BKS is a Fortune 500 company and the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products. The Company operates 649 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states, and one of the Web's largest e-commerce sites, BN.com (www.bn.com). Its NOOK® Digital business offers award-winning NOOK® products and an expansive collection of digital reading and entertainment content through the NOOK Store® (www.nook.com), while Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC operates 714 stores serving over five million students and their faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States.

General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained by visiting the Company's corporate website: www.barnesandnobleinc.com.

Barnes & Noble®, BN.com®, NOOK®, Barnes & Noble Education^™ and Barnes & Noble College^™ are trademarks of Barnes & Noble, Inc. or its affiliates.

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About Flashnotes, Inc.

Flashnotes.com is the student-to-student study materials marketplace. On Flashnotes.com, college students sell and buy course-specific study materials -- study guides, notes, flashcards, video tutorials, and live video help. College students need two things -- more money and better grades. Flashnotes.com Pays2Study™ approach empowers smart college students to make money from their own study material while helping other students study smarter to get better grades. Flashnotes.com is headquartered in Boston, Mass. For further information, visit www.flashnotes.com.