Shares in Reckon Limited (ASX: RKN) are flying out the door today — and the company is as blindsided by the craziness as anyone else. At the time of writing, the Reckon share price is 93 cents, a whopping 17.83% higher than its previous closing price.
Reckon's dramatic day began before the market opened when Novatti Group Ltd (ASX: NOV) announced it had agreed to acquire at least 15% of Reckon's outstanding shares. However, Reckon quickly declared it had no knowledge of Novatti's plans.
Reckon provides accounting and bookkeeping software, while Novatti is a payment services provider.
Let's take a closer look at the today's ASX soap opera.
Stock market drama
This morning, Novatti announced it had entered into purchase agreements for the acquisition of at least 15% of Reckon's shares on issue.
However, Reckon responded only hours later, saying it had no idea Novatti planned to become one of its major shareholders.
According to Novatti, it has an agreement to buy 17 million shares of Reckon for $1 each.
Novatti's shares have been frozen today as it undertakes a capital raise. Some of the proceeds are intended to go towards buying a large stake in Reckon.
Peter Cook, Novatti's managing director, said:
We are delighted to have secured a strategic stake in ASX-listed Reckon…
We look forward to successfully completing the capital raising and joining the Reckon share register as a major shareholder.
Reckon, in turn, said it's "monitoring the progress of Novatti's proposed acquisition of their strategic stake".
However, the news that shocked Reckon has excited the market – likely due to Novatti's willingness to pay $1 per share. Reckon shares have spent the last 12 months trading for between 62.5 cents and 90.5 cents apiece.
Reckon share price snapshot
Currently, the Reckon share price has gained around 20% on the ASX in 2021.
It's also 38.68% higher than it was this time last year.
The company has a market capitalisation of around $104 million, with approximately 113 million shares outstanding.
