Tekelec Shares Jumped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Tekelec (NAS: TKLC) popped 11% Monday after a consortium led by Siris Capital Group, LLC offered to take the telecom equipment provider private for about $780 million.

So what: The all-cash deal values Tekelec at $11 per share and represents an 11% premium to its Friday closing price of $9.90. Tekelec shares have been on fire recently -- up 80% since the beginning of October -- fueled by record-size orders, suggesting that Siris wanted to pounce on the operating momentum before the price got more expensive.

Now what: Tekelec's board approved the acquisition and the deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2012, pending shareholder and regulatory approval. The current management team will stay in place. While Tekelec's shares are likely all popped out, close rival Agilent Technologies (NYS: A) , which is now far cheaper on a forward P/E basis, seems like a solid place to roll those profits over.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

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