Steel Partners Opposes CEO-Led Buyout Bid for InMode
Steel Partners calls the CEO-led buyout offer for InMode 'value-destructive' and signals it won't go down without a fight.
If you've been following InMode lately, things just got a lot more interesting. Steel Partners, one of the company's notable shareholders, has publicly come out swinging against a buyout offer led by InMode's own CEO, calling the deal 'value-destructive' — which is investor-speak for 'this is a bad deal for everyone except maybe the guy making the offer.'
When a CEO leads a buyout of their own company, it's called a management buyout, or MBO. The basic tension here is pretty obvious: the CEO has inside knowledge of the company's true value, while regular shareholders are on the outside looking in. Critics of MBOs often argue that executives can time these deals when the stock looks cheap, effectively buying the company at a discount on the backs of other investors.
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Steel Partners appears to be making exactly that argument. By labeling the offer 'value-destructive,' the firm is essentially telling other shareholders that accepting this deal would mean leaving real money on the table. It's a shot across the bow — and a signal that Steel Partners intends to push back, potentially rallying other investors to oppose the transaction or demand a higher price.
This kind of shareholder activism isn't unusual when buyout offers surface at prices that major investors consider too low. Activist shareholders like Steel Partners can use their stake to vote against deals, publicly pressure boards, or even pursue legal channels to block a transaction they believe undervalues the company. Whether their opposition will be enough to derail or reshape the CEO's offer remains to be seen, but it definitely complicates what might have seemed like a straightforward path to taking InMode private.
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