Today, investors of OpenTable (OPEN +0.00%) were treated to a rather pleasant surprise when it was announced that Priceline (PCLN +0.69%) was buying the company out for $2.6 billion in an all cash deal -- a premium of 47% to Thursday's close.
Motley Fool analyst Jamal Carnette likes the deal. First, Priceline acquires a company growing its top line similar to its own. Also, this shows that Priceline is looking to become the "one-stop shop" for travel and leisure, further ingraining itself into travelers' itineraries.
Even more telling, however, is Priceline chose to pay cash instead of issuing shares. This points toward Priceline being comfortable with the price paid and the potential synergies, and also that it feels its own company is still undervalued by the market.
