Jefferies Maintains Buy on Itron after Elster Group Acquisition Discussion

Jefferies & Company has published a research report on Itron

after competitor Elster Group

confirmed acquisition talks. In the report, Jefferies writes, "This morning, before the open, Elster (ELT, NC) confirmed it was in discussions with British buy-out company Melrose PLC (MRO.LN, NC) to acquire all outstanding shares of Elster for $20.50 per ADS or approximately $2.3B on a fully diluted basis. Elster is Itron's closest pure-play metering comp and ITRI is up on the news. At the proposed offer, shares of ITRI would be valued at $55+; we reiterate Buy rating." Jefferies maintains its Buy rating and $45 price target on Itron, which is currently trading up ~4% from Friday's $37.51 closing price.