Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of solar manufacturer JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ: JASO) jumped as much as 16% today after the company received a buyout offer.
So what: Chairman and CEO Mr. Boafang Jin made a "preliminary non-binding proposal letter" offering to take the company private at $9.69 per share. The board of directors will consider the offer. It's uncertain whether or not Jin will be able to close on the offer, and since it's non-binding he could walk away at any time.
Now what: A 20% premium to yesterday's close certainly isn't the most impressive buyout premium we've seen this year, but it's a nice bump for shareholders nonetheless. But I'd still be a little leery about the offer -- we don't know how Jin would pay for the shares, or if he will even follow through at all. If you were looking to sell shares of JA Solar, today would be a good time to take some chips off the table just to make sure you get some benefit from the pop -- if the buyout doesn't go through, it might not last.
