WMC will need to strongly consider AG Mortgage proposal, says BTIG

BTIG keeps a Neutral rating on AG Mortgage Investment Trust (MITT) after the company submitted bid to acquire Western Asset Mortgage Capital (WMC) for $9.88 per share to block its recent merger agreement with Terra Property Trust. While hard to gauge the likelihood of WMC accepting AG Mortgage’s offer, from a fiduciary standpoint, the board will need to strongly consider the proposal, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm expects AG had been stalking the merger with Terra and was prepared with its proposal following the reaction in WMC’s stock. BTIG thinks “there could be some upside” to AG if it successfully acquires WMC “given some better visibility around potentially maintaining the dividend.”