The one day sale!
Every now and then, I’ll see something in a store that’s on sale. It seems like a good deal, but I’m not quite ready to buy for one reason or another. But yesterday, I kicked myself (methaphorically, of course) for not buying Checkfree (CKFR) on Wednesday after reading this 8K that was filed late Tuesday. As everyone knows by now, Checkfree’s stock climbed 23% yesterday on news that it was being acquired by Fiserv (FISV) in a $4.4 billion deal. That’s the type of one-day sale that even beats Nordstrom’s (JWN) semi-annual anniversary sale.
Of course, hindsight is always 20-20. It’s incredibly easy to say that you should have done something after the fact. So play along with me as I discuss what held me back: For one, the 8K did not have all of the telltale signs that I look for when it comes to finding these things in advance. There was also a hefty short position that made me think twice. But in the end, I thought there was more time. As footnoted.org regulars know, I’ve been tracking this sort of thing for awhile and I’ve never seen a company file the tell-tale 8K only a day before the deal is announced. It’s just never happened. Lesson learned!
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Posted in Tags: 8Ks, M&A |
 5 Comments » |
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August 3rd, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Thanks for the info. Don’t beat yourself up on
this one since this market is in bonzo land.
Lots of unreal things. Bear S under attack like
I’ve not seen since 1990.
Cramer telling for Fed to open Discount window
and cut rate.
Getting very heated in many ways. Those LI jobs
are just tip of iceberg seen in AHM blowup.
The air pocket drops and gaps (esp with margin
calls on top of no uptick rule). just amazing.
It’s possible that’s why so much haste in Checkfree case.
Watching LEND and the Lone Star pending offer
of $15. Looks like Star stood by offer even
as LEND hit $4. There’s a bounce play. Hit $8
today for those with the chops.
Enjoy weekend & study up.
August 3rd, 2007 at 6:20 pm
I just read that a board member at Fiserv had a long work relationship with an executive at CheckFree, which could have influenced the whole deal. There are some other relationships as well that are interesting to note, kind of along those same lines. (see NewsVisual: http://www.newsvisual.com/newsvisual/2007/08/fiserv-and-chec.html)
August 4th, 2007 at 5:32 am
I have not read the company’s latest Q or K, for that matter I have never read anything about the company. Shows you how much of researcher I am!
At any rate, based on the financial information I found at ADVFN, I figure the stock is worth $41-$46. I see that Fiserv is paying $48.
Seeing as how all this happened in the middle of pretty gloomy market, I just wanted to write and say….WAY TO GO MICHELLE, YOU BLEW IT!!!
Wax
August 4th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Thanks for rubbing salt in my wounds, Wax. And, Tony, very interesting find. Thanks for bringing it to footnoted’s readers.
August 23rd, 2007 at 11:06 am
[...] merger proxy filed by CheckFree (CKFR) yesterday. Footnoted regulars may remember that I bemoaned missing out on the one-day sale the day before CheckFree’s purchase by Fiserv (FISV) was [...]