Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is surging this morning. Bloomberg first reported, now confirmed in a press release, that founder Richard Schulze is sending a letter to the board of directors saying that he is set to offer $24 to $26 per share to acquire the troubled electronics retailer and that he is seeking to conduct due diligence. Speculation has been around for some time that he was going to make a play to acquire the company after he resigned from the board of directors. While the market capitalization rate of Best Buy was $6 billion with a $17.64 closing price on Friday, investors need to remember that the founder still owns roughly 20% of the outstanding shares.
We would comment on one thing here. Schulze needs to conduct almost no due diligence other than what the board has been up to for the last 60 days or so. He is the founder and former chairman, so he should know just about everything there is to know. Chances are high that he is even aware that Best Buy stores often just act as a showroom for Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) vendors.
Best Buy shares are indicated up 23% at $21.70 this morning against a 52-week range of $16.97 to $28.53.
JON C. OGG
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