Booktopia, the online bookseller which collapsed into administration last month, has been sold to digiDirect for a fraction of its one-time $400 million valuation.

Shant Kradjian, the founder of the consumer electronics business, said he expected to hire around 100 staff to restart Booktopia, which had been placed on the market by administrators McGrathNicol. The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column first reported the likely sale of Booktopia to digiDirect earlier this month.