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 Giant Interactive Group, Inc. (GA) popped 12% today after a group led by Chairman Yuzhu Shi offered to take the Chinese online game developer private for about $2.8 billion.
So what: The all-cash offer values Giant Interactive at $11.75 per American depositary share, representing a premium of 16% to Friday's close. Of course, the bidding group already owns about 47% of Giant Interactive's shares, so the move shouldn't come as too big of a surprise to shareholders.
Now what: Giant Interactive plans to form a special committee of independent directors to evaluate the offer. "We believe that the Acquisition will provide superior value to the Company's shareholders," Shi's consortium wrote in a letter to Giant Interactive's board. "In considering our offer, you should be aware that the Consortium Members are interested only in acquiring the outstanding shares of the Company that the Consortium Members do not already own, and that the Consortium Members do not intend to sell their stake in the Company to any third party." With Giant Interactive shares now up about 130% over their 52-week lows, taking at least some dough off the table seems like a prudent thing for shareholders to do.
