What Happened?

Shares of machinery provider H&E (NASDAQ: HEES) jumped 18.8% in the pre-market session after Herc Holdings made an offer to buy the company for $104.89 per share in cash and stock, a 14% premium over the pending $92 per share sale to United Rentals. According to the terms of the deal, HRI's offer will generate $300 million of EBITDA by the end of the third year after closing.

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What The Market Is Telling Us

H&E Equipment Services’s shares are quite volatile and have had 15 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for H&E Equipment Services and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business. 

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was about a month ago when the stock gained 107% on the news that the company agreed to a $4.8 billion takeover by United Rentals, with shareholders receiving $92 per share in cash. This valuation includes about $1.4 billion in net debt. This acquisition value represents more than a 100% premium over HEES's trading price a day before news of the deal was announced.

H&E Equipment Services is up 107% since the beginning of the year, and at $100.16 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of H&E Equipment Services’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $3,426.

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