I'm not sure the Bell thing is the same situation.in October 1999 there was a takeover proposal,
"Bell Industries Inc., an electronics and computer-products maker and distributor based in El Segundo, said it rejected as inadequate a $5.30-a-share offer by Steel Partners II. Bell told the New York-based investment fund that it would consider a higher offer. Bell's shares, which reached a 52-week high of $6 last month, rose 31 cents, or 7%, to close at $4.88. The shares have jumped 21% during the past year. Steel Partners is Bell's largest shareholder, with a stake of 15%, as of last March."
"An investment group disclosed that it sold about two-thirds of its Bell Industries Inc. holdings after company shares soared on reports that billionaire investor Warren Buffett had acquired a stake in the El Segundo-based systems integrator. Steel Partners sold more than 1.1 million common shares from Monday through Wednesday for $5.76 to $6.37 apiece, according to an amended Schedule 13D filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The shares were worth about $7.1 million."
My theory is that if Buffett went in for a sort of merger arbitrage then if the stock spikes 50% past any reasonable buy-out price, it's like getting the cash settlement in a merger closing without having to wait for any regulatory closing or even to find a buyer! Steel Partners did it for the same reason most likely.
I can't prove it, but my feeling is that SRG is a slower, more long-term development and growth of a REIT with regular dividends along the way with a larger payoff still to come down the road. RBC put out a report with an intrinsic value of $75+ per share. Of course if it got way ahead, like maybe at $57 in April 2016, why not sell it?
