Harrah Done Deal, Navteq Next…

The Harrah’s Entertainment acquisition officially closes today so I’ll generate a 2.08% return over a ~ 1 month period, which comes out to ~ 24% annualized. It’s actually a bit more since I used margin to purchase additional shares. It was a relatively low risk way to generate quick income. I have to admit a lot of the LBO deals out there look very shaky right now and I would avoid most of them. I was considering Penn National Gaming as my next merger play, but I decided to go for Navteq, which is being acquired by Nokia for $78 in cash. I picked up some Navteq today at $73.76 and $73.38 per share. I’m looking for this deal to close late February to March time frame. You’re looking at a 5-6% return over ~ 2 months. Financing is not a concern and you’re just waiting for the European Trade Commission to give its “ok” on the deal.