ChoicePoint Chooses to Sell
With expansion efforts stalling, the info provider jumps at Reed Elsevier's buyout offer
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Talk about a quick fix. Shares of ChoicePoint (CPS), which had been languishing near a 52-week low of $31.87, surged on Feb. 21 after the provider of insurance information and ID verification services said it had agreed to be acquired by Anglo-Dutch British information provider Reed Elsevier, owner of Lexis Nexis, for $3.5 billion in cash, or $50 a share -- a 49% premium to its closing price of $33.66 on Feb. 20.
At 15 times ChoicePoint’s EBITDA, "it’s a very generous price," said Brian Ruttenbur, managing director at Morgan Keegan.