Filing Flows › Buckle (BKE) › Takeover & LBO
Is Buckle (BKE) a takeover target?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($60.29 a share) would return about 4% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; no price, however low, gets a buyer to 20%. Historically 3.5% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.69× the average).
The buyout, step by step
| Entry | Amount | How |
|---|---|---|
| Offer price a share | $60.29 | today's $46.38 plus 30% |
| × shares | 51.0 million | |
| = Equity value | $3.1B | |
| + Debt refinanced | $0 | |
| − Cash | $287M | |
| = Enterprise value | $2.8B | 9.2× EBITDA of $304M |
| Fees | $55.8M | 2% of the price |
| New debt | $1.7B | 5.5× EBITDA at 7.65% a year; the limit that binds: 5.5× EBITDA |
| Buyer's own money | $1.2B | 41% of the cost |
5 years under the buyer
| Year | Revenue | EBITDA | Interest | Free cash flow | Debt left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $1.4B | $323M | $128M | $76.0M | $1.6B |
| Year 2 | $1.5B | $340M | $122M | $90.8M | $1.5B |
| Year 3 | $1.6B | $356M | $115M | $106M | $1.4B |
| Year 4 | $1.6B | $369M | $107M | $120M | $1.3B |
| Year 5 | $1.7B | $380M | $97.7M | $135M | $1.1B |
The exit and the buyer's return
| Exit | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Exit multiple | 6.8× EBITDA | today's trading multiple, before any premium |
| Enterprise value at exit | $2.6B | |
| − Debt left | $1.1B | |
| = Buyer's equity | $1.5B | |
| Money multiple | 1.24× | on $1.2B put in |
| Buyer's yearly return (IRR) | 4.5% |
Price against return
What the buyer makes at other premiums over today's $46.38.
| Premium | Price a share | Buyer's IRR |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $51.02 | 14.4% |
| 20% | $55.66 | 9.4% |
| 30% | $60.29 | 4.5% |
| 40% | $64.93 | 0.6% |
| 50% | $69.57 | −2.5% |
The figures used
| Figure | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue, last 12 months | $1.3B | |
| EBITDA, last 12 months | $304M | 22.9% of revenue |
| Depreciation and amortization | $26.9M | |
| Capital spending | $66.4M | |
| Debt | $0 | |
| Cash | $287M | |
| Share price | $46.38 | on Oct 30, 2026 |
Fixed rules, the same as the interactive view's starting point: the shares are bought at today's price plus 30%, the company's debt is refinanced and fees take 2%. New debt is the least of 5.5× EBITDA, 65% of the price and the amount whose interest EBITDA covers 2 times, at 7.65% a year (SOFR 3.89% plus the high-yield B spread 3.26% plus 0.5%, rates of Oct 15, 2026). Revenue grows 6.2% in the first year — the company's own rate, held between −3% and +8% — fading to 3% by year 5; the EBITDA margin, depreciation and capital spending stay at today's share of revenue; working capital takes 10% of each year's added revenue; tax is 24% of profit after interest. Every dollar of free cash flow repays debt. After 5 years the buyer sells at today's multiple of EBITDA.
What a takeover could cost
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, Buckle would cost about $61.45 a share, $3.1B for all its shares.
| Premium | % | Price a share | All shares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low end (a quarter of deals paid less) | 20% | $55.66 | $2.8B |
| Median | 32.5% | $61.45 | $3.1B |
| High end (a quarter paid more) | 51.8% | $70.40 | $3.6B |
The odds, from history
Historically 3.5% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.69× the average). Its figures put it in decile 3 of 10 (10 = the most likely to be bought). The odds come from a model of every merger proxy, tender-offer response and going-private statement filed on EDGAR since 2011, set against each company's size, margins, debt, cash flow and growth the year before.
Buckle's latest quarter
Buckle, Q2 FY27: revenue $320M (+5% year over year), operating margin 17.4%, net earnings $44.4M, operating cash flow $46.7M. The chart follows the revenue to costs, profit and cash.
Questions
Is Buckle being acquired?
No headline, 8-K or 13D about a sale is on file in the last year.
Could private equity buy Buckle?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($60.29 a share) would return about 4% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; no price, however low, gets a buyer to 20%.
What would a takeover of Buckle cost?
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, Buckle would cost about $61.45 a share, $3.1B for all its shares.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.