Retailer HMV Group today said it had agreed a deal to sell book chain Waterstone's to Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut for £53m sterling.
HMV closed two Waterstone's outlets in Dublin earlier this year.
The company has issued three profit warnings this year. It said the deal is conditional on the approval of shareholders, the pension trustee and pensions regulator, and the consent of its lending banks including a renegotiation of the group's lending facilities.
The firm also updated on trading, cautioning that weak market trends had continued in the core HMV UK and Ireland business, where sales at stores open for over a year slumped 15.1% in the 17 weeks to 30 April.
Total group sales fell 14.1% over the period.
