Quote:
Originally Posted by SensualPoet
B&N lost 9% more of its value today closing pretty much at $14. That has to be unsettling and certainly suggests the Liberty Media offer of $17 is slipping away. Technically, you could snap up shares at $14 today and, when the Liberty Media deal is signed off in a few weeks, make a cool 21% on your money. Alternately, it might also mean the deal is being discussed at a lower price or perhaps cancelling the offer altogether.
One is reminded of the deal to take over Yahoo! by Microsoft when the deal was $30 and Yahoo! said "no way". Yahoo! has since laid off more than half its staff and trades at $11. Sometimes you need to strike when the iron is hot. Granted recent events in the stock market are unusual but it is sobering. I mentioned before that Liberty Media can take its time given no one was interested in Borders ... why pay more for B&N?
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Due to the volatility of the market (understatement of the year), both B&N and Liberty have lost 20% of their stock value in the last five days. This isn't an opportune time for Liberty to be lining up $1 billion worth of financing. The odds that the deal will be completed under these circumstances are not promising. "Not promising" is another understatement.