Blackstone shares gain the most in two weeks on Monday, company to acquire LaSalle Hotel Properties for $3.7 billion

According to a statement by Blackstone Group LP on Monday, it intends to acquire LaSalle Hotel Properties in a deal estimated at $3.7 billion. The offer by the private equity firm exceeded a rival bid made last month by Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, as the latter had proposed to pay as much as $3.5 billion.

Blackstone shares closed higher for the third time in the past eight trading sessions on Monday. It has also been the sharpest daily surge since May 4th. The stock went up 1.25% ($0.39) to $31.68, after touching an intraday high at $31.94, or a price level not seen since May 10th ($32.09).

In the week ended on May 20th the shares of the global alternative asset management company lost 0.57% of their market value compared to a week ago, which marked a second consecutive period of decrease.

The stock has extended its advance to 2.36% so far during the current month, following a 3.13% slump in April. The latter has been a third consecutive month of losses.

For the entire past year, the shares of the Blackstone Group rose 18.46%, following a 7.56% slump in 2016.

Blackstones proposal values LaSalle at $33.50 per share, while that of Pebblebrook – at $31.75 per share, Reuters reported.

According to Stuart Scott, LaSalles Chairman, the US hotel owner had already contacted twenty potential buyers. He also explained that prior to choosing Blackstones proposal, LaSalle had signed confidentiality agreements with ten of them.

Goldman Sachs & Co LLC and Citigroup Global Markets Inc advised LaSalle on financial aspects of the agreement, while JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC were Blackstones financial advisers.

Meanwhile, LaSalles legal advisers were Goodwin Procter LLP and DLA Piper LLP (US), while Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP was advising Blackstone Group LP.

According to CNN Money, the 12 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding The Blackstone Group LP’s stock price, have a median target of $39.50, with a high estimate of $46.00 and a low estimate of $31.00. The median estimate is a 24.68% surge compared to the closing price of $31.68 on May 21st.

The same media also reported that 13 out of 15 surveyed investment analysts had rated The Blackstone Group LP’s stock as “Buy”, while 1 – as “Hold”.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, today’s levels of importance for the Blackstone stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $31.74
R2 – $31.79
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $31.85
R4 (Long Breakout) – $32.01
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $32.20
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $32.29

S1 – $31.63
S2 – $31.57
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $31.52
S4 (Short Breakout) – $31.35
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $31.16
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $31.07

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for The Blackstone Group LP (BX) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $31.30
R1 – $31.68
R2 – $32.06
R3 – $32.44
R4 – $32.81

S1 – $30.92
S2 – $30.54
S3 – $30.16
S4 – $29.77