Problem:
Simon Manufacturing Co. is planning to acquire Garfunkel Engineering in a two-step buyout. Garfunkel has 3,000,000 shares of common stock currently outstanding, and the market price is currently $25 per share. The first step of the buyout would offer to purchase 51% of Garfunkel Engineering common stock for $34 per share, The second step would be to exchange each remaining share of Garfunkel common for $5 in cash and a newly issued share of Simon Manufacturing convertible preferred stock, valued at $27.50 per share.
Simon Manufacturing's investment banker has suggested, as an alternative, a single-stage buyout at $32.50 per share for all of Garfunkel's common stock.
(a) What is the total cost of the two-step buyout?
(b) What is the total cost of the single step proposal?
(c) If it wants to minimize the total cost of the acquisition, what should Simon Manufacturing do?