Riviera Holdings (AMEX:RIV) shares moved up $2.46, or 9.66%, to $27.93 after an investor group led by Mr. Kanavos, Robert Sillerman, Brett Torino and Barry Sternlicht offered to acquire the company for $27 per share. The group said they are prepared to immediately enter into a merger agreement with Riviera on substantially the same terms as the April 5, 2006 merger agreement between their acquisition vehicles and Riviera. The offer represents a 13.5x 2006 EBITDA multiple, which the investment group believes is a substantial premium. They also said that their proposal has the support of other large stockholders who have reportedly contacted the company directly to confirm the same. Whether or not this transaction goes through depends on whether the board lifts several restrictions in order to make it possible - for this, the investor group has set a 5:00PM PST on March 30th. Given that the stock is currently trading above the buyout price, it appears that some investors may believe that the company is worth more. Regardless, this is definitely a stock to watch as this situation unfolds!

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