sterne-agee-leech
Latest
Rumor: GameStop being eyed for purchase by private equity group
GameStop might be worth roughly $3.27 billion, but if reports are correct, a group of folks at a private equity firm may be considering an offer of $4.94 billion (a 33 percent raise over the current, rumor-inflated stock prices) to acquire the publicly held game retailer. The Street is reporting that the rumors of a buyout have already raised stock prices by nearly six percent to $19.86 per share since just five days ago, as of this afternoon. And those rumors could be seen as partially substantiated by the company's lackluster performance on Wall Street as a publicly held company. Sterne, Agee & Leech analyst Arvind Bhatia told The Street, "The company generates strong free cash flow and is not getting respect as a public company." A buyout of GameStop by a private equity firm could mean moving the company's public status to private, not to mention a possible management shakeup (among other things). We asked GameStop corporate for comment and were told, "We do not comment on speculation or rumor," so for now we'll just have to wait and see what shakes out.
