Skechers makes a bid for Heelys

Heelys (NASDAQ: HLYS) has looked interesting to me for the past few months. Sure, it's a fad product that's way past its prime but look at the balance sheet: the stock is trading very close to its book value and has $96 million in cash on the balance sheet, compared with a market cap of just over $130 million. The company also has no debt.

Apparently Skechers (NASDAQ: SKX) sees some value here too. In a press release issued after the close of the market yesterday, Skechers announced that, on May 28th of this year, it had made a formal proposal to acquire Heelys. The proposal was rejected without being disclosed to shareholders, and now Skechers is taking the battle to the streets, offering to acquire the entire company for $5.25 per share, a premium of just 8.2% to Tuesday's closing price.

Shares of Heelys traded up to $5.35 after-hours, indicating that investors anticipate that Skechers -- or someone else -- may come through with a more compelling offer.

From a corporate governance and transparency perspective, I think it's disappointing that Heelys didn't disclose the original offer to its shareholders. But given the state of the economy, and its beaten down share price, Heelys can probably make a strong case for staying the course as a stand-alone company, at least for now. If Skechers really wants Heelys, it will up the offer -- the company has to realize that a premium of 8.2% is just not very compelling.

Given the interest in Heelys, you also have to wonder whether fellow fallen angel of footwear fads Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) could also end up in play soon.