Yes, you are correct; part of what you are describing is also known as a control premium. Control premiums obviously exist, but they are likely to correlate to

Yes, you are correct; part of what you are describing is also known as a control premium. Control premiums obviously exist, but they are likely to correlate to the market cap. For example, a buyer may be forced to pay a control premium of, let's say 20%, to get a public company's shareholders to agree to sell. So if the company has a $500 mm market cap, the buyer might end up paying $600 mm. But if the company later tanks and has a market cap of $250mm, a similar 20% premium, or $300mm offer, would likely still result in a sale, unless a majority of the shareholders believed that the shares were currently and unusually severely undervalued. So I doubt that the price to buy the company would fluctuate much more slowly. And since market cap is an objective measurement, it's often easiest to just think of the market cap, and keep in mind that you will have to pay a control premium if you actually wished to acquire the company.