Kmart completes Borders acquisition

TROY, Mich. -- Kmart Corp. said Friday it has compelted is acquisition of the Borders book store chain.

The deal involved a stock-for-stock exchange in which Kmart issued convertible preferred stock in exchange for all outstanding Borders stock.

Borders, headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., operates 22 book superstores in the Midwest and Northeast. Borders joins the Kmart Speciality Retail Group.

This year, Kmart subsidiary Waldenbooks entered the book superstore business with the opening of three Basset Book Shops in the Northeast.

Kmart said Basset and Borders would each continue with their expansion efforts with the precise nature and structure of their long- term relationship determined over the next several months.