Aug 16, 2024 - Economy
Charted: B. Riley stumbles
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It's been A Week for B. Riley.
- Shares of the Los Angeles-based financial services company recovered somewhat today from staggering losses this week that wiped out close to $360 million of its market cap, a drop of roughly 70%.
The latest: Co-founder and co-CEO Bryant Riley has informally offered to take the company private, per a regulatory filing today.
- Riley says he's willing to buy the shares he doesn't already own at $7 a piece, or a nearly 40% premium to yesterday's closing price.
Context: Riley's offer comes on the heels of several disclosures Monday that sent the company's stock into a nosedive:
- It expects to write down roughly $330 million–$370 million related to its investment in Franchise Group (the owner of Vitamin Shoppe).
- It's been subpoenaed by the SEC about its relationship to that business' former CEO, Brian Kahn.
- It suspended its dividend and delayed its quarterly SEC filing.
Worth noting: With a small float — less than 16 million shares are available for trading by the public (Goldman Sachs' is over 330 million, for comparison) — B. Riley's stock is very sensitive to news.
