RE: 30% + I do not disagree that this stock has the potential to return 30%. I think we will see $3 again, Stella will be a good boost to the sp, but I must disagree with your statement that they want to "sell themselves". If you mean promote themselves, I agree, but this company had made it clear it is not interested in being bought out. There have been 2 attempts, both at offers much higher than the sp at the time, and the BoD has shut it down, so this company is not trying to sell itself. A hostile bid may succeed because there is little management ownership and no poison pill in place, and many investors have hoped for a take-out, but the company is not trying to sell itself. I wish it woud because it could unlock value for shareholders much faster this route than proceeding to Stella.
As for the aquisition. Smart acquisition, ties in with fields they alraedy have, lets them use some of the mound of tax losses, gives a nice little boost to production (1000BBD), and relatively cheap. Still not a big acquisition that maybe shareholders were expecting and in my mind hinted at earlier. Still this acquisition still opens the door to a hostile bid as in essence not much has changed with the fundamentals.