So Long, Ceradyne! It Was Nice While It Lasted.

This article is part of ourreal-money portfolios series.

Well, it happened sooner than I expected, but I'll be selling the Messed-Up Expectation portfolio's position (all 52 shares!) of Ceradyne (NAS: CRDN) . This morning, the company announced that it had agreed to be purchased by conglomerate 3M (NYS: MMM) for $35 per share.

The sweet thing is that both positions will end up in the green, both the March 2012 purchase at $32.45 and the June 2012 purchase at $25.41. Overall, the portfolio will make 24% on its investment in a mere six months. Not too bad!

I was expecting Ceradyne to become a bigger player in oil drilling, selling its PetroCeram ceramic screen filter to Petrobras (NYS: PBR) and other big field drillers, as well as branching out further in automotive, health care, and cosmetic uses of its products. 3M obviously saw the same kind of opportunity, felt it had a broader reach (which it probably does), and decided to acquire the company.

So long, Ceradyne! It was nice while it lasted.

Come and discuss this and other investments on my Messed-Up Expectations discussion board, or follow me on Twitter.

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Fool analyst Jim Mueller does not own shares of any company mentioned. He's an analyst for the Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter service. The Motley Fool owns shares of Ceradyne. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of 3M and Petrobras and creating a diagonal call position in 3M. 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 Motley Fool's disclosure policy is never messed up.

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