Why did shares in Rhipe (RHP) rally today?
RHP +20.1%: where there’s smoke there is usually a fire, as was the case with one of the positions in the Emerging Companies portfolio today. Rhipe confirmed that Crayon has made an offer on the company at $2.50/sh which sent the stock higher today. The bid is a 20% premium to last, and values RHP at 15x EV/EBITDA pre-synergies. Looking at the numbers, this would drop down to closer to 12x with synergies which looks a little light in our view. The company seems to agree, granting limited, and non-exclusive due diligence to the Norwegian group, keeping the door open for other suitors to join in. Crayon look like keen bidders following a recent raise specifically for acquisitions and we suspect that they will return with an improved offer even without a competing bid – the market seems to agree with RHP shares trading through the initial bid today.
