Borders Debunks Media Reports of Debt Woes

ANN ARBOR, MICH./AUTHORLINK NEWS/January 22, 2010—In response to an article that originally appeared January 15 on debtwire.com, Borders Group today released the following:

“The debtwire.com article includes inaccurate information. Specifically, it claimed Borders has extended the length of time it takes to pay its small publisher vendors by 40%. This is inaccurate. In fact, Borders has continued to pay its vendors in a timely manner, has not lengthened its days to pay, and has not been contacted by a group of publishers as alleged. Product is flowing to our stores for sale to customers. In fact, we have significantly increased book inventory in the fourth quarter compared to last year, a sign that we have continued to receive support from the vendor community. It is also important to note that we have not been contacted by any law firms allegedly retained to represent a small group of publishers. Today it was reported that the law firm of Lowenstein Sandler issued the following regarding the debtwire.com article: ‘The statement in the article that a group of smaller publishers had hired the bankruptcy group of Lowenstein Sandler as legal counsel is incorrect.’

“Overall, Borders Group continues to focus on running our business, including recently announced digital book partnerships with Kobo and Spring Design that position the company to be a high quality content provider of eBooks. We also continue to focus on reducing expenses and improving working capital to drive improved cash flow and debt reduction as we address the clear priority to drive profitable sales.”

About Borders Group
Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) is a leading specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items. The company employs approximately 25,000 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders® and Waldenbooks® stores. Online shopping is offered through borders.com. Find author interviews and vibrant discussions of the products we and our customers are passionate about online at facebook.com/borders, twitter.com/borders and youtube.com/bordersmedia. For more information about the company, visit borders.com/media.