Hit #188 (Audible)

Late in January, Amazon agreed to buy Audible (ADBL) for $300 million. The cash offer, of $11.5/share, makes for a gain of 9.6% over my average cost of $10.49.

The offer price is low given Audible's leadership position, and its loyal customers (I know a few of them). Why didn't they fight for a better offer ?

I had invested part of the proceeds from Engelhard's sale (see post) into Audible. In the same post I had mentioned Apple or Yahoo as likely buyers. Amazon came as a surprise.

Another post I did earlier, on investing prospects related to increased bandwidth demand, also mentioned Audible as a candidate.

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Previous hit - Millenium (#187)

Hit #187 (Millenium Pharma)

Japan's Takeda is buying Millenium Pharmaceuticals (MLNM) for $8.8 billion in a cash deal. The $25/share offer makes for a gain of 43.8% over my average cost of $17.38.

Takeda had indicated earlier (see post) that it was looking to buy. Also, when Pharmion was acquired (see Hit #183), I had mentioned Millenium though I saw it more as a buyer than a target then.

While on this sector, I would recommend Amgen (AMGN) as a long-term value buy. The stock bumped higher today following the Millenium news, but still remains attractive to buy-and-holders. OSI Pharma (OSIP) and Biogen (BIIB) are also worth watching.

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Previous hit - ASV (#186)