Amazon.com, which has been rapidly adding digital downloads to its vast Web store, said on Thursday that it had agreed to buy Audible, the largest online seller of audiobooks.

Amazon will pay $300 million in cash for the company, or $11.50 a share, a 23 percent premium to the stock’s closing price on Wednesday.

Audible, based in Newark, offers 80,000 audiobooks and spoken-word products from magazines, radio shows and newspapers, including The New York Times. It sells its digital files through its own Web site and, since 2003, through Apple’s popular iTunes service.

The move could also allow owners of the Kindle, Amazon’s cream-colored electronic book reader, to download audiobooks directly to the device. Amazon introduced the Kindle to great fanfare late last year.

Amazon to Buy Audiobook Seller for $300 Million - New York Times

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Tags: Amazon, Audiobooks, Apple