Maxar Bought Out For $53/Share

It has been one of my favorite names for years.

Today I turn 40 years old. And I’ve already gotten my birthday present.

One of my favorite stocks that I have often written about here, Maxar Technologies, a space infrastructure and Earth intelligence company, is being bought out for a more than 100% premium to yesterday’s closing price.

A Wall Street Journal exclusive out this morning reports that Advent International agreed to the deal that values the company at about $4 billion.

Advent International agreed to buy Maxar Technologies Inc. in a deal that values the satellite owner and operator at about $4 billion.

Advent is paying $53 a share for Maxar, executives at the private-equity firm said. Shares of Maxar, which are down 23.5% since the beginning of the year, closed at $23.10 on Thursday.

The deal is expected to be unveiled later Friday.

Including debt, the transaction is worth $6.4 billion, making it one of the bigger buyouts to be announced during the past few months, when market turmoil and a challenging financing environment have made it harder to do deals. The debt for the transaction will be supplied by a group of nonbank lenders.

Maxar being bought out makes perfect sense, not only because of the company’s valuation, but due to a bigger theme in space and defense that I think is in the works. I have been writing that I am investing in defense, as well as several other sectors, as I believe those industries can buck the trend of falling markets.

In a portfolio update this August, I wrote:

In defense and aerospace, I love MAXR…

In another update, in July, I wrote:

I also added more Maxar in the 23’s and 24’s here over the last 48 hours. Maxar is getting cheap again. Take a look at all those photos of Russian tanks you’ve been looking at over the last few months. Every one of them says “Maxar Technologies” in small print on it. I see the company as a potential defense asset, similar to LMT and RTX, that also has acquisition potential by either of those two names, or similarly situated entities.

In April, I wrote about it as one of my Select Favorite Longs:

I still like favorites like Maxar (MAXR), which I believe is still an acquisition target…

Maxar makes the second of my 22 Stocks for 2022 to get bought out - the first was Activision (ATVI). In a note from December 2021, I wrote about Maxar:

Given the company’s one-of-a-kind infrastructure, its paltry market cap of just $2.24 billion (it did $1.7 billion in revenue in the ttm period) and its propensity to work closely with the U.S. government, I expect Maxar stock to continue to re-rate and possibly even look appealing to a potential acquirer or activist investor.

I also guessed a buyout would happen in my 100 Fringe Predictions for 2022 - a fun read to review if you haven’t otherwise, too.

---

🔥 For those interested in my latest thoughts on the market and what stocks interest me, you can read this update published earlier this week.

And if you don’t yet have a subscription - as part of my birthday spectacular, to anyone that isn’t yet a paid subscriber, you can have 50% off by using the link below.

QTR’s Disclaimer: I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning. This piece may reflect thoughts on individual names/markets that does not match my trading in the days surrounding publishing. This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. These positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important.