Pearson to Take Stake in Nook Unit Pearson, the British publisher and education company, announced on Friday that it was investing $89.5 million in Barnes & Noble's digital Nook business for a 5 percent stake. Barnes & Noble also warned that its e-reader business would fall short of its projections for the year and that holiday sales overall would be below expectations. Pearson's investment follows a $300 million investment in the Nook by Microsoft in April. The Nook has been trying to challenge Amazon's dominance of the e-book market. The latest investment gives it backing from one of the world's largest education companies, as well as the publisher of The Financial Times newspaper. Yet the company also disclosed on Friday how steep that challenge is. It said in a regulatory filing that based on preliminary sales results and trends, it expected its holiday sales results would be below expectations. Shares of Barnes & Noble at first surged in pre-market trading, but trimmed back its gains. After the Pearson investment, the bookseller Barnes & Noble will own 78.2 percent of the Nook unit and Microsoft will own 16.8 percent. Pearson will also be granted warrants to buy an additional 5 percent of Nook at a pre-investment valuation of $1.79 billion. Will Ethridge, the chief executive of Pearson North America, said in a statement: "Pearson and Barnes & Noble have been valued partners for decades, and in recent years both have invested heavily and imaginatively to provide engaging and effective digital reading and learning experiences. This new agreement extends our partnership and deepens our commitment to provide better, easier experiences for our customers.