The rumour put to me late yesterday was that a deal was very close which would bring Borders into the Angus and Robertson / Supanews group. While I have bogged about the PEP backed offer for Borders previously, my informant said there had been significant progress. If true, the result would be a book / magazine / stationery / greeting card offering covering big, medium and small formats. I’d expect rationalisation in the book side of the business (maybe some stress with A&R franchisees?) and rapid expansion of the Supanews brand. Of course, since it’s a rumour it needs to be approached with caution.