Here's Why Genworth Financial Is Up More Than 20% Today
What happened
Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW) is one of the market's top-performing stocks on Monday, with shares up by more than 20% as of 11 a.m. EDT.
The move comes after news broke over the weekend that the Delaware Department of Insurance has scheduled a Nov. 28 hearing about Genworth's proposed sale of itself to China-based Oceanwide Holdings Group.
Genworth's investors have a reason to cheer, as the long-awaited sale of the company could be approaching. Image source: Getty Images.
So what
The acquisition by Oceanwide was originally announced in October 2016, so to say that this transaction has been drawn out would be a major understatement. The regulatory approval deadline has been extended several times, and there has been much doubt as to whether it would happen at all. In fact, just a few months ago, shares were trading for just a little over half of the proposed buyout price.
The news of a scheduled hearing is making investors optimistic that the acquisition might happen after all, as it marks a key step in the latter stages of the process. In fact, Oceanwide's chairman has said that the company still hopes to complete the transaction during the fourth quarter.
Now what
The price at which Oceanwide Holdings Group is set to acquire Genworth is $5.43 per share. Even after today's massive upward move, this represents a premium of nearly 25% over the current share price.
While this means that there's a lot of potential upside for shareholders if the transaction does indeed go through, it also tells us that investors are still quite skeptical that the long-awaited acquisition will actually happen.
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Matthew Frankel, CFP has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
