What happened
Shares of RetailMeNot (SALE) were up 49% as of 11:00 a.m. EDT Tuesday after the coupon specialist agreed to be acquired.
So what
More specifically, RetailMeNot will be acquired by privately held payment solutions and marketing services company Harland Clark Holdings for $11.60 per share in cash -- a roughly 50% premium over RetailMeNot's closing price on Friday and a 36% premium to its average closing price in the 60 days ended on Friday. The deal assigns an equity value to RetailMeNot of roughly $630 million.
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According to RetailMeNot's press release, the combination "will create an omni-channel media network with tens of thousands of advertisers reaching hundreds of millions of consumers around the world."
"Not only are we delivering an immediate and significant cash premium to our stockholders," said RetailMeNot founder and CEO Cotter Cunningham, "but we are also meaningfully advancing our goal of becoming a leading savings destination for consumers."
Now what
The deal has also been approved by both companies' boards of directors, but is still subject to regulatory approval and Harland Clark's receipt of a majority of RetailMeNot's issued and outstanding shares of Series 1 common stock via a tender offer. As it stands, RetailMeNot expects the transaction to close before the end of this quarter, at which time it will become a privately held company. So with shares currently trading within pennies of the agreed acquisition price -- and unless waiting a little longer to sell will result in more favorable long-term capital gains tax treatment -- I think RetailMeNot investors would be wise to put their money to work elsewhere.
